Banque Misr signs EGP 3bn revolving credit facility with SODIC    The Future Begins Now: A National Alliance Bridging the Gap Between Classroom Seats and Leadership Dreams    Ahl Masr Burn Hospital Concludes First Scientific Forum, Prepares for Expanded Second Edition in 2026    Egypt Tax Authority Standardises VAT Treatment for Exported Services, Issues Guidance    Resilience, Innovation, and the Smart Home: Mohamed Ataya on GROHE's Strategic Vision for Egypt    Egypt signs mining training agreement with Australia's Murdoch University    Australia returns 17 rare ancient Egyptian artefacts    Gold prices edge lower on Thursday    Cairo affirms commitment to Lebanese sovereignty, urges halt to cross-border violations    Egypt expands rollout of Universal Health Insurance    Egypt's Al-Sisi links national progress to strict law enforcement, says society has role in reforming legal application    Gaza death toll rises as humanitarian crisis deepens, Israeli offensive expands in West Bank    China invites Egypt to join African duty-free export scheme    Egypt, Algeria agree to deepen strategic ties, coordinate on Gaza ceasefire, regional crises    Egypt calls for stronger Africa-Europe partnership at Luanda summit    Egypt begins 2nd round of parliamentary elections with 34.6m eligible voters    Egypt warns of erratic Ethiopian dam operations after sharp swings in Blue Nile flows    Egypt scraps parliamentary election results in 19 districts over violations    Egypt extends Ramses II Tokyo Exhibition as it draws 350k visitors to date    Egypt signs host agreement for Barcelona Convention COP24 in December    Al-Sisi urges probe into election events, says vote could be cancelled if necessary    Filmmakers, experts to discuss teen mental health at Cairo festival panel    Cairo International Film Festival to premiere 'Malaga Alley,' honour Khaled El Nabawy    Cairo hosts African Union's 5th Awareness Week on Post-Conflict Reconstruction on 19 Nov.    Egypt golf team reclaims Arab standing with silver; Omar Hisham Talaat congratulates team    Egypt launches National Strategy for Rare Diseases at PHDC'25    Egypt adds trachoma elimination to health success track record: WHO    Grand Egyptian Museum welcomes over 12,000 visitors on seventh day    'Royalty on the Nile': Grand Ball of Monte-Carlo comes to Cairo    Egypt launches Red Sea Open to boost tourism, international profile    Omar Hisham Talaat: Media partnership with 'On Sports' key to promoting Egyptian golf tourism    Sisi expands national support fund to include diplomats who died on duty    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



African teams kick off World Cup qualifiers
Former World Cup finalists Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo suffer the ignominy of setting off on Africa's road to the next World Cup finals alongside the continent's minnows this weekend
Reuters Published in Ahram Online on 10 - 11 - 2011

Declining fortunes over the last few years mean the two sides must now play at the start of the continental preliminaries, along with almost half of the 52 African hopefuls for the 2014 finals in Brazil.
They are involved in two of the 11 first-round knockout ties, which start on Friday and end next Wednesday.
The Congolese, then known as Zaire, were at the 1974 finals in West Germany and Togo played in the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
On Friday, they play in more humble surroundings as they begin a bid to reclaim past glories.
The Congolese, who have charismatic French coach Claude Le Roy back in charge, are away to Swaziland while Togo, still awaiting news of Emmanuel Adebayor's possible return, travel to Guinea Bissau.
Friday's matches mark the return after an eight-year hiatus for the tiny island archipelago of Sao Tome e Principe, who have not played since an 8-0 defeat by Libya at the start of the qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup.
They host Congo on Friday already showing signs of possibly being on the receiving end of another crushing defeat. Coach Gustavo Clemente bemoaned a lack of preparation opportunity while local reports suggested the federation was battling to find money to pay for the return trip next week.
Lesotho return to competitive action after a three-year absence after losing six successive matches in the qualifiers for the last World Cup but are confident of shaking off years of inactivity when hosting Burundi in Maseru on Friday.
“The players are very strong right now,” said their coach Leslie Notsi.
Somalia continue to enter the World Cup preliminaries but again are forced to host their home match on neutral territory because of the long-running conflict in the horn of Africa. They last had a home game in Mogadishu in October 1986.
Somali's Ocean Boys will play in neighbouring Djibouti on Saturday against Ethiopia, having spent the last three months in Djibouti preparing for the World Cup kickoff.
Ethiopian troops used the main stadium in the Somali capital as their base when they invaded Somalia in 2006 to drive Islamists from power, but retreated in 2009 in the face of a growing insurgency by rebels.

Clic here to read the story from its source.