The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced that the nation’s top football league will resume on August 7 following suspension due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In March, matches across all divisions of local competitions were suspended, initially for 15 days, in an attempt to contain the spread of the infections.
The announcement follows one by Youth and Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhi who said last month that league matches will resume on July 25 “under strict precautionary measures”.
A statement from the EFA said that the first set of matches to be played will be those that were postponed.
“The first phase will include the games scheduled to be played from 7 August until the end of the month, and it will be revealed as soon as we reach a final decision regarding Aswan SC stadium as the club requested to play its games in Cairo,” the EFA said.
The proposed venue in Aswan in in dispute after clubs refused it due to the distance and long journey for the players amid what is expected to be a busy schedule. Aswan is located about 700km to the south of the capital Cairo in Upper Egypt.
“The second phase of the games are scheduled to be played starting from 1 September until the end of the season. This will be announced shortly after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decides the final dates of the semi-finals and finals of the African Champions League and the Confederation Cup,” the statement added.
The EFA has put in place several safety guidelines on testing, training and medical precautions, including players being required to take two tests five days apart. So far, 19 people have tested positive and gone into isolation.
The EFA statement made no mention of the declaration by players of 12-time league winners Zamalek who previously said that they will not return to the pitch to train or play before the coronavirus is gone and a cure is found.
Late last month, Zamalek goalkeeper Mohamed Awad revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19. One of the team’s captains, Hazem Emam, then said that they will not “sacrifice our lives and the lives of our family members just to resume the league and please Al Ahly and the people who support them.”
Before the league was suspended, record league winners Al Ahly topped the table with 49 points, 16 ahead of second-placed Arab Contractors with Pyramids F.C. a further point behind in third.
