CAIRO - The Executive Committee of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), headed by Anwar Saleh, has decided to cancel the Premier League 2011-12 season, holding instead a friendly tournament called ‘The Martyrs’ Cup’.
Effat el-Sadat, the President of Al-Ittihad Club of Alexandria, made this announcement Saturday, at the end of an EFA meeting.
On February 1, in the coastal city of Port Said, a match between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly in the Egyptian Premier League turned violent, claiming the lives of at least 74 Al-Ahly fans and injuring around 1,000 more.
Seconds after the final whistle, thousands of supporters of Port Said team Al-Masry invaded the pitch, hurling bottles and rocks at the fans of Cairo’s Al-Ahly.
Al-Ahly Club has in principle declared that the first week of every February will be known as ‘Al-Ahly Martyrs' Week’.
The Egyptian Premier League has been postponed, while most soccer clubs have suspended all their sporting activities and declared 40 days of mourning. They include Al-Ahly Club, whose period of mourning will end on March 11.
The temporary committee that now leads the EFA is headed by Salah, after the previous board members resigned in the wake of the Port Said tragedy early last month.
El-Sadat explained that presidents of the Premier League clubs have reached an agreement with the EFA to exclude Al-Masry of Port Said from the tournament.
"We have agreed to keep Al-Masry out of the tournament for many concerns," he told Filgoal.com, pointing out that the draw of the friendly tournament will be held on March 21, with the clubs being divided into two groups.
El-Sadat added that Egypt's Cup will be held as scheduled before, but behind closed doors.
The postponement of the Premier League and the suspension of all sports competitions nationwide, as well declaring a state of mourning, have been cause for much debate.
According to soccer experts, the calling off of all local competitions could prove the downfall of the Egyptian clubs, because there have many commitments and obligations. For example, they have contracts with advertising agencies that pump money into these clubs.
Sporting activities guarantee clubs three main sources of revenue: money from match tickets, advertising and TV broadcasting rights.
Most citizens and many soccer experts were not in favour of resuming the League anyway, as the players and coaches are psychologically unprepared for this, after the deadly scenes they witnessed in Port Said.
Meanwhile, some other Egyptian sports experts have urged officials to take the necessary measures to prevent something like ‘The Massacre of Port Said’ ever happening again, arguing that there is a dire need for sporting events to resume in the country after the end of the mourning period.
