Egypt's players demand resumption of football activity

A group of Egyptian players in the first and second divisions call on authorities to resume domestic football activity after a lengthy stoppage

A group of Egyptian footballers said they would hold a rally in front of the sports ministry headquarters on Monday to demand the resumption of domestic football following a lengthy stoppage.
All domestic competitions were suspended following February's infamous Port Said disaster, which left over 70 football fans killed after crowd riots in an ill-tempered league game between Ahly and Masry.
The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has announced that the new Premier League season would start on 17 October but Ahly's hardcore supporters (Ultras Ahlawy) insisted they would not allow football resumption unless the perpetrators of the Port Said disaster were brought to justice.
"It's extremely important that football competitions are resumed because this is our job and our sole source of income," the newly-founded group said on a Facebook page which they named "the voice of sportsmen".
"We created that page to send our message to authorities and make our voice heard. We also want all Egyptian sportsmen to join us.
"Our first step to present our demand will be holding a peaceful rally in front of the sports ministry on Monday at 12:00 pm (Cairo local time)."
Ultras Ahlawy have recently stormed the EFA and Ahly club headquarters to protest against football resumption.
However, Ahly played the first competitive game in local competition since the Port Said disaster when they beat ENPPI 2-1 in a highly-controversial Super Cup game earlier this month.
The game was played amid tight security measures after Ultras Ahlawy threatened to storm the Egyptian Army Stadium in Alexandria, which hosted the annual curtain-raiser of the season.
Many Egyptian second-division players, who are usually poorly paid, have complained that they could ill-afford the consequences of football suspension. Premier League players echoed their worries, with some of them hitting out at Ultras Ahlawy.
Zamalek's veteran midfielder Ahmed Hassan said he would support the demands of the second-division players.
"We demand that the authorities find an alternative if football is not resumed. We should be given other jobs in that case," the group added.
"We would like to fully stress on our support for the rights of retribution for the Port Said martyrs, we want swift justice through the legal channels. But that has nothing to do with football resumption."
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