Egyptian League suspends almost 6, 000 Al-Ahly fans for shouting insults
Kamanga
THE Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) is determined to ensuring that the Zambia Under-17 national team led by coach Ian Bakala is ready for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations that kicks off on April 29.
The junior Chipolopolo will compete in Group B, dubbed the “group of death” which has football powerhouses Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa. Zambia will date Nigeria and South Africa in the first two matches scheduled for April 30 and May 3 before wrapping up the i r group
THREE thousand Al-Ahly fans have been suspended for two games for shouting “insults” against Zamalek and Egypt player Shikabala during the team’s last game against Pharco, the Egyptian Football Premier League (EPL) said.
Even though league leaders Al-Ahly were not playing Zamalek on Friday, their three thousand fans in attendance - which is the maximum allowed for any team during a domestic soccer match - vented their anger towards midfielder Shikabala in what has been a long-running saga of insult trading.
Al-Ahly were also fined $650 for the incident.
The EPL also suspended 2, 021 Ismaili supporters and 874 Ittihad fans for shouting insults during their matches against ENPPI and Smouha respectively on Friday.
“If the insults are repeated fans will be banned from attending league matches until the end of the season,” the EPL said in a statement on Sunday.
Egypt allows a maximum of 6 000 fans to attend any domestic soccer match, with each team’s allocation capped at 3, 000, since the 2012 Port Said Stadium disaster in which more than 70 Al-Ahly fans were killed and several hundred were injured.
The only exception is for international fixtures featuring the national team or games organised by the African Football Association (CAF).
The ticketing system in the country requires fans to provide identification when buying match tickets, which makes it easy for the authorities to track down attendees and if required suspend them.
“The league’s dream is games with a fixture Morocco on May 6.
FAZ president Andrew Kamanga said the Under-17 led by Bakala who doubles as Forest Rangers head coach has heightened preparations for the youth AFCON which will be held in Algeria.
Kamanga said the association will ensure that the team is camped in North Africa before the tournament kicks off and afforded some international friendly matches.
“We have no doubt that the team will be ready by the time the tournament kicks off,” Kamanga said. “Coach Ian Bakala and his technical bench had the final check of local players with an All Stars versus The Rest match at Nkoloma Stadium. It was good to see players selected by the technical experts in the provinces have a good run against the All Stars provisional squad,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kamanga has challenged some of the staketo against
Egypt allows a maximum of 6, 000 fans to attend any domestic soccer match, with each team’s allocation capped at 3000, since the 2012 Port Said Stadium disaster in which more than 70 Al-Ahly fans were killed and several hundred were injured.
have fans to the full capacity of the stadiums and we made great efforts to increase the number of fans. We don’t want anyone to spoil these efforts,” EPL president Ahmed Diab holders that cry foul over team selections to familiarise themselves with some of the tournament requirements for various age group competitions.
“We are alive to the routine outcry every time selections for junior teams are selected but also take cognizance of the fact that some complaints are borne out of ignorance,” Kamanga said.
“Few people care to understand that junior team tournaments are age-restricted and are not open-ended to anyone playing in the lower leagues in the provinces. There are requisite procedures like the Magnetic Imaging Resonance (MRI) and other procedures that are mandatory for participating teams,” he said. On the FAZ annual general meeting scheduled for April 22 at the Government Complex in Lusaka, Kamanga said; “We are looking forward to a very progressive discourse with the football family and pray that our game emerges stronger.” said.
“We punish only the wrongdoers and those who break the rules, and the punishment is not collective,” he added.