Africa Cup of Nations Notebook - Day 19

What you need to know:

  • Incensed, the Guineans confronted him leading to a scuffle that was stopped from turning ugly by the quick action of the stadium security that included mean-faced men the size of tree trunks.
  • Needless to say the Guineans were a very subdued lot after the match while their Algerian counterparts skipped around in merriment.

Egypt want to bid for Uefa Super Cup

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Not satisfied with hosting their fifth Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt are looking for more honour.

The Egyptian Football Association President, Hany Abu Rida, revealed last week that Egypt was mulling hosting the Uefa Super Cup, Spanish and Italian Super Cups.

Rida said the association was yet to decide on when they would put out a bid to bring that illustrious fixture to Egyptian soil.

“There are also plans to host the Italian or the Spanish super cups and the matter will be decided in future,” said Rida. Meanwhile, he said Egypt were ready to host this year’s Under-23 Afcon from November 8 to 22.

Excellent pitches come at a price

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One thing that has to be given to the hosts is their excellent pitches. The fields of all the six venues have been praised for their exceptional state.

The same goes for the training pitches. Local Organising Committee chairman Mohamed Fami has revealed that they have gone to great lengths to ensure the pitches were prepared to world class standards to enhance the standard of the game.

Towards that end, the LOC have been forced to stop teams from conducting the traditionally pre-match day training at the match venue. Instead, teams are only allowed to take a walk on the field to have a feel of it.

Country grapples with plastic trash

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Cairo is a beautiful city of 20 million residents with outstanding architectural structures both old and modern, wide, smooth roads and a bustling populace.

And with such a large population the city is struggling with how to deal with its refuse, particularly plastic waste. It is not unusual to find garbage dumps on some streets in residential areas.

And there are also certain parts of the city you will find littered with plastic bags and bottles. In Egypt, as earlier mentioned in this section, plastic use is the rule as they practically wrap everything they buy in light material plastic bags - the kind that Kenya banned a year ago.

Guinean, Algerian journalists clash

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Guinean and Algerian journalists came to near blows at the 30 June Stadium media stand during the round of 16 match between their two nations on Sunday.

Apparently, an Algerian scribe splashed water around the stand in excitement after the Desert Foxes’ opener.

Incensed, the Guineans confronted him leading to a scuffle that was stopped from turning ugly by the quick action of the stadium security that included mean-faced men the size of tree trunks.

Needless to say the Guineans were a very subdued lot after the match while their Algerian counterparts skipped around in merriment.