Boost for Egypt Ahead of Qualifiers Match with Ghana

Information trickling through from Egypt indicates that up to 50,000 football fans will be allowed to attend Egypt’s crucial 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Ghana at the Borg El Arabi stadium in Alexandria on November 13.

According to reports in the Egyptian media, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) appears to have received the green light from authorities to allow a maximum 50,000 fans to cheer the Pharaohs up against the Black Stars in the Mediterranean Sea resort.

The announcement comes after football fans have been mainly banned in Egypt since February 2012 when 72 Ahly fans died in the Port Said Stadium disaster.

The report cites the Interior ministry as having announced the decision to allow 50,000 supporters to attend the match dubbed as the decider with the two favorites clashing in Alexandria.

There will be a meeting between the ministry officials and the leadership of the Egyptian football Association in the coming days to map up a mechanism on how to control the large number of fans to ensure an incident free match.
The Borges El Arab is the largest stadium in Egypt and the second largest in Africa with a capacity of 86,000, which means that up to 70% of the stadium is expected to be filled for the cracker.
The news come as a huge boost for the Pharaohs who are on a revenge mission to upstage the Black Stars and qualify for the Russia 2018 World Cup for the first time since 1990, after being denied by Ghana in 2014.
Hector Cuper’s side beat Congo Brazzaville away by 2-1 in the opening Group E game and are scheduled to face old foes Ghana on November 13. Ghana must be prepared for a cracker.
 

Report by Nene Botchway