Egypt’s EFA head admits to difficulties of completing football domestic season

The head of the Egyptian Football Association’s (EFA) competitions committee admitted to the difficulty of completing the domestic season but said he still hopes a solution could be found before it’s too late, Ahram Online reported on Sunday.

Football in the country has been suspended since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, with just half the season played.

With almost 150 matches still left to play in the Egyptian Premier League, Hossam El-Zanati said resuming the competition would face several obstacles.

“I don’t think there is any other league competition in the world with so many games left to play,” he told OnTime sports television channel.

“We need to give the teams four weeks to prepare for the league resumption, and then we need 60 uninterrupted days to complete the competition. If there are any further delays, the league will conclude by the end of September.

“If we introduced a congested schedule in which the teams play every two days, the players will be burned out, and that will in turn affects the Egyptian national team, which have commitments in September.”

The league competition will remain on hold until at least mid-May. Egypt has recently eased its coronavirus restrictions, but football officials were not given any timeframe over when they can kick-start the league.

Should this season be scrapped, El-Zanati will face another dilemma — who will be declared champions, who will qualify for African competitions and who will be relegated.

Defending champions Ahly are overwhelming favourites to win a fifth straight title as they top the table on 49 points, 16 ahead of nearest challengers Arab Contractors, who played a game more.

“We haven’t reached the halfway stage so it will be too early (to decide). It’s natural that people say Ahly should be crowned champions because they are very close, but what about relegation places?”

Egypt cancelled its domestic season twice in the last decade. The 2011-12 season was scrapped following the deadly Port Said disaster, which left over 70 Ahly fans dead, and the following season was also called off following the mass protests that toppled Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.