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CAN 2006: Let the Football Fiesta Begin (19.01.2006)
Africa’s greatest sports spectacle kicks off in Egypt tomorrow. For 22 days, fans of the African Cup of Nations will get a chance to see Africa’s finest footballers in action when players such as Cameroon’s Samuel Eto`o, Côte d’Ivoire’s Didier Drogba, Nigeria’s Jay Jay Okocha, Senegal’s El Hadji Diouf, Togo’s Emmanuel Adebayor, Egypt’s Mido…open hostilities in Egypt. It would be the most accomplished gathering of African players ever seen.
Egypt is hosting the event for the fourth time; having previously hosted it in 1959, 1974 and 1986. This time, nothing is being left to chance. The organisation is meticulous. The hosts have invested an enormous amount of money to upgrade their facilities. Six stadiums in four cities will be used for the 32 matches. The Cairo International Stadium, the venue for both the opening match and final of African football`s showpiece, has been given a face-lift. Since its construction in 1958, it is the first time the Cairo ground has been fully refurbished. The stadium has become all-seater, with capacity for 74,100 spectators. Fans now gain access the stadium via electronic gates. Not only are there new electronic scoreboards behind each goal post but new floodlights, bathrooms, media facilities and a new VIP areas have been constructed. The money has produced a stadium comparable with any on the planet. The Cairo Stadium is now one of the best in the Arab world and in Africa. The Cairo military stadium, the Port Said, Alexandria, Ismaila and Harras El-Hedoud stadiums, the four other stadiums to host matches of the tournament, have all been equally upgraded.
The Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the 25th African Cup of Nations says
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Egypt is set for the event. Dr Viken Djizmedjian, planning director for the tournament, said the LOC was under pressure from the local press to put on a good tournament after their failure to win the right to host the 2010 World Cup. In effect, Egypt wants to use the tournament to show the world that it is ripe to host the World Cup. "We have the expertise, we have the know-how and we have the capabilities and we`re showing this with the Nations Cup." Djizmedjian said.
Getting people to fill the stands, however; remains a particular concern for the organisers. Although the organising committee started selling the tickets in August on the Internet, there is still fear that the public might not turn up for the matches massively. To solve this problem, the LOC has asked the governors of Port Said and Alexandria, which will be hosting Groups D and C respectively, to put effort into filling the stands in those cities. "We have made a special arrangement for them to bus in people from the schools and factories in the area to fill the seats in those cities," Djizmedjian said.
There will however be no problem filling the 74,100 seats at the Cairo International Stadium tomorrow during the opening ceremony and match to be attended by the Egyptian President, Mohamed Hosni Mubarak. All fans have been asked to get to the stadium before the stadium`s gates close at 4:00pm. The program starts at 5:30pm with a 15-minute cultural show. This will be followed by fire works. Egypt and Libya launch the 32-game programme at 7:00pm. There will be group matches daily until the end of January, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, the third-place play-off and the final on February 10, 2006.
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