Half-time:
Lesson never learnt
A year ago, the Egyptian Olympic soccer team took part in a friendly tournament in Romania organised by the Romanian Arab Sports Academy. The team played two friendly games against its Romanian Olympic counterpart. The matches were broadcast live and were well received by the Egyptian soccer-loving public.
However, a foreign news agency turned things upside down when it reported that the Romanian players were not members of the Olympic team and had no business donning the Romanian national jersey. The Romanian federation, while admitting the players were not connected at all with the Olympics, never offered a convincing explanation as to how this happened despite holding an investigation.
In the wake of the fiasco, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) was criticised for allowing itself to be so easily duped. Others, though, believed that the federation was actually involved in the deception since the Romanian Arab Academy is owned and run by Talaat Sheta, an Egyptian businessman. In any event, the minister of youth, Alieddin Hilal, was questioned in the People's Assembly. After all was said and done, Hilal severed all ties between the EFA and the academy .
The case was apparently closed until recently when two Egyptian clubs; Ismaili and the Border Guards, announced they were to participate in a four-team tournament -- held by the Romanian Arab Sports Academy.
The EFA's initial reaction was to request that both Ismaili and the Border Guards seek permission from the association before flying to Romania for the tournament. But the sudden reappearance of the issue brought with it so many complaints, particularly from the press, that the EFA was forced to set another condition for the clubs, this one much more difficult to meet: the EFA must now receive an official guarantee from the academy that the tournament will be held under the auspices of the Romanian Football Federation.
Getting such confirmation will not be easy nor will it be quick. After spending the past month preparing for the event, booking tickets and getting visas stamped in passports, Ismaili and the Border Guards are in danger of missing the tournament and thereby, stand to lose thousands of pounds.
Sheta has promised to find a way out. But even if he does solve the problem, the real issue remains unresolved. The bidding to host the 2010 World Cup is in full swing yet you wouldn't think so if you were residing in Egypt. While the bidders -- Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria and Libya -- have been busy publicising themselves as good enough to hold football's most coveted championship, Egypt has done virtually nothing in this regard. The news in our media of what the competing nations are doing is more than our own simply because we have nothing to report.
Instead of running around the globe entering fantasy and phony football competitions we should instead take a reality check and focus on the important tasks at hand.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 24 - 30 July 2003 (Issue No. 648)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/648/sp2.htm