كتب : Ahmad Saied
“This is the hardest task we have to face,” Khaled Abudl-Aziz, organizing committee manager , told a press conference on Saturday.
“If Egypt were drawn to play with any other African country except Libya, this would have been much easier.”
Egypt will face their closest neighbours from the West in the opening match on January 20th in the tournament kick-off.
Libya are expected to be supported by some 10,000 fans which, Abdul-Aziz says, will put great pressure on the on the administrators.
“We will deal with around 74,000 people, with some 3,500 cars in the Cairo Stadium area on this day,” he said.
“With the dimensions of the surrounding streets and parking areas, we need the media to help us save this day.
“We want to send a message via the printed, broadcasted and online media to urge the crowd to decrease the number of vehicles and stick to the rules.”
However, Abdul-Aziz admitted that probably some problems will occur on the opening day and apologized in advance about any trouble.
He also urged reporters to cover the advantages as well as the disadvantages of the organization to paint a positive picture of the event.
The press conference was held ahead of Egypt’s friendly before the tournament against South Africa later on Saturday.