It's a deal

Hassan Shehata will remain Egypt's football coach, reports Inas Mazhar

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Shehata will serve two more years as head coach of the Pharaohs (top), the same technical and medical staff at the Egypt 2006 also remain with the national team

Football fans breathed a sigh of relief this week after the Egyptian Football Association announced that Hassan Shehata and his team of assistants would lead the Pharaohs for the next two years.

It took the EFA more than a month to decide, since Egypt claimed the Nations Cup trophy on 10 February, whether to renew Shehata's contract or hire a new coach.

Some EFA board members were in favour of keeping Shehata, who led Egypt to a fifth unprecedented African title last month. Others though, felt a foreign coach was needed despite the grand victory. The new contract expires at the end of the next African Nations Cup, scheduled to take place in Ghana in 2008. "It took us a long time because we couldn't take such a major decision before studying Shehata's report," said Sahar El-Hawwari, EFA board member. "After studying and discussing it, we all agreed that Shehata and his men were the best to lead the Pharaohs in the coming period," El-Hawwari added.

In his report, Shehata reviewed the activities of the team during the past 18 months, pointing to the negative and positive. It analysed in detail the national team's path to the cup.

Shawki Gharieb will remain assistant coach, as will Hamada Sedki. Ahmed Suleiman remains the goalkeepers' coach and Samir Adli the team's administrative manager.

Shehata's salary will increase to LE60,000 a month, while the salaries of the rest of the crew will be decided at a future board meeting.

On Tuesday, the National Council for Sports held an official celebration at the Air Forces House marking the national team's winning of the African Nations Cup. The ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials of state, including the ministers of the concerned ministries that participated with the organising committee of the Nations Cup.

During the ceremony, the players received their prize money checks awarded by President Hosni Mubarak in appreciation of their outstanding achievement. The president had allocated LE3 million to be distributed among the players and their coaching staff for their winning the title.

Meanwhile, El-Hawwari revealed that the EFA will host the Arab Women's Football tournament next month in Alexandria. "The tournament was scheduled for Tunisia, but after the success of the African Nations Cup in Egypt last month, the Arab Federation agreed to host it in Egypt.

"Alexandria Governor Abdel-Salam El-Mahgoub was very keen on the idea," El-Hawwari added.