Orlando Pirates’ CAF Champions League clash with Zamalek will go ahead despite political violence and extreme heat, CAF confirmed today. Recent political violence in Egypt has left more than 1,000 dead, but Al Ahly and Zamalek’s Champions League fixtures will go ahead as planned. Al Ahly will play AC Leopards of the Congo on Saturday at El Gouna, a Red Sea resort some 350km from strife-torn Cairo, followed the next day by Pirates’ match at the same venue. The Buccaneers take on the White nights on September 1. For Champions League fixtures and news, The two popular Egyptian clubs, who have dominated Africa’s top club competition in the past, are both competing in Group A, with Pirates leading at the halfway mark with seven points. Ahly have four, along with Leopards, while Zamalek are rooted at the bottom of the group with a single point. Both games will be played behind closed doors at the insistence of Egyptian authorities, who are afraid unruly crowds could lead to more unrest. But the major concern will likely be extreme heat. A lack of adequate floodlights at the small stadium means both matches kick off at 4pm local time in temperatures forecast between 28 and 38 degrees. Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef suggested at the weekend he would rather have played outside Egypt than in El Gouna because of the heat. “I’m really dismayed with the decision to play there; the pitch is so poor, temperature is high and air currents there affect our game,” he told local reporters. Egypt’s military are not allowing any football in Cairo or the country’s second city Alexandria, where there are requisite floodlight facilities. Pirates did ask for their match to be moved to a neutral venue but were turned down by CAF. The Egyptian league was cancelled after the military overthrow of president Muhamed Mursi’s government and subsequent violence, but participation in international competition continues.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Aug 2013 07:17:25 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015