Egypt coach calls for a full stadium ahead of Kenya qualifier

by Staff Reporter

Sunday Nov 10, 2019. 08:00

Egypt national team coach Hossam El Badry has called for supporters to fill the Borg El Arab Stadium when the Pharaohs host Kenya for their opening 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Thursday.

The match will be Egypt’s first competitive fixture under El Badry, and it will be followed by a challenging game away to Cameroon four days later.

“We need the full support of enthusiastic football fans. I hope to find the fans filling the stadium in the match against Kenya. The absence of fans has always affected everything negatively,” the coach told MBC Masr TV Channel on Saturday, as quoted by Ahram Online.

“We are preparing well for the Kenya match. Our full concentration now is on the two matches in the qualifiers,” explained El Badry.

“We want to make a good start for our campaign in the qualifiers. We work quietly and as time passes we achieve our targets,” he added.

El Badry has also explained why he opted to leave out seven players from Pyramids FC. The Egyptian Premier League club insisted they won’t release their players until 72 hours before the Kenya game, as per FIFA regulations, before reversing their decision.

However El-Badry had his own reasons to insist on the exclusion: “This disciplinary decision was a must. We saw that the team gathering was necessary amid the league’s suspension, but the club’s decision wasn’t in place,” he concluded.