The organisers are working overtime as the African Cup of Nations draws closer. Inas Mazhar reports Less than two weeks to go before the start of the African Cup of Nations (ACN) in Egypt and there is still much to be done. "There are so many things to do in these two weeks," said Hani Abu Reida, head of the local organising committee. "Our main problem that might cause some delays is the long vacation because of the Coptic Christmas and the Bairam holidays. Many authorities are off and cannot be contacted. But we, the organisers, will be working. We have decided to take just one day off, which is the first day of the Eid, then resume our tasks," Abu Reida said. "Our schedule is full. The LOC is not only responsible for organising the Cup which is scheduled to kick off on 20 January, but we are also responsible for other activities that will be held in Cairo before the tournament's kick-off," Abu Reida said. The CAF Congress and executive meetings will be held from 17 to 19 January at the Cairo Marriott Hotel. On 19 January FIFA President Joseph Blatter is to arrive in Cairo and is expected to hold a press conference together with CAF President Eissa Hayatou. Blatter arrives to inaugurate the FIFA goal project and attend the opening day match between Libya and Egypt. A symposium will also be held for FIFA to explain the new regulations concerning the football players' transfers. According to Abu Reida, several visits to all the tournament's stadiums and venues have been conducted to check on everything. "Everything is ready, infrastructure and services. We have trained the volunteers in each venue in order to show them how to deal with the visitors, whether officials, guests or media." Abu Reida said the main media centre in Cairo will be opened on 14 January. It can accommodate more than 1,500 media representatives. All media centres in all venues will be opened on the same day. According to the head of the media committee and the tournament's official spokesman Viken Dijzmedzjian, the stadium's media centres double as the main media centre is built on a smaller scale, depending on the size and space of the media centre. "Media representatives will be pleased with the facilities the LOC is offering them to ensure that their jobs are done smoothly and easily," Dijzmedzjian said. "Many volunteers will be in the media centres, tribunes and even the media hotels to guide and help the media people. We want to make sure that everyone is happy." The main media centre is to be an area of work and leisure for all media representatives covering the three-week event. "For this purpose, the centre as well as the stadiums will have, in addition to the normal facilities offered for such an event, special services which will be given upon request, to specialised media wishing to cover the event under special conditions such as private offices, special telephone lines and ADSL services, studios for interviews for TV channels and satellite feeds. "Egypt Telecom offers free local lines at the media centres. But for international calls or faxes, card phones will be available in the working room in the media centres. Phone cards are available for sale at each media centre. For the media to do their job in terms of reporting and interviewing, Dijzmedzjian said that according to the new FIFA and CAF regulations, there will not be any interviews on the pitch. Instead, a mixed zone will be designated for interviews and shots of players and coaches half an hour after the end of a match. "Access to this zone is strictly limited. A limited number of journalists can have access in it for 15 to 30 minutes, after the end of the match, and can meet the technical managers of the teams and some players to interview them." Access to the mixed zone requires, apart from the accreditation card, a special access card prepared by CAF and delivered before the beginning of the match by CAF press officers. The modalities of distribution are decided by CAF. Dijzmedzjian said photographers will have no access in the mixed zone. Only accredited cameramen, the host TV and national televisions that are directly involved in the match can get access cards prepared by the official sponsor. Dijzmedzjian explained the working condition for cameramen and photographers covering the event. "Cameramen and photographers will need, in addition to their badge, to wear a bib for access to the field. The bibs will bear a fixed number. They will be granted according to usual criteria in all international competitions and with the following priority order: cameramen for side stories and news access, sound men and reporters, photographers of the media whose teams are competing, professional photographers of the host country and independent photographers of the teams competing. "The bibs will be distributed to all radio and TV representatives by the tournament's official sponsor. And they will be valid during the whole course of the competition, unless special instructions are given." According to Dijzmedzjian, during the match photographers or film crews will be allowed to be stationed only behind the goal line, and not beyond a fixed line according to FIFA regulations. They will not be accepted on the touch line. They will be required to stay at certain positions permanently behind the commercial advertising panels. Changing positions will only be tolerated at half times. Dijzmedzjian also noted that photographers must be properly positioned and do not obstruct each other. They will not be allowed to move and we will make sure that volunteers will be assisting in this. The only other occasion when photographers may move from one end of the pitch to the other is in the event of a penalty shoot-out (not a penalty in regular playing time), and only once the game has finished. "With the limited space available, the photographers need to be especially disciplined. No photographer is allowed on the field of play before, during or after the game. It is not allowed to make interviews with any player or official on the field. Abuse might lead to confiscation of the bib by CAF media officers," Dijzmedzjian said. NATIONAL TEAM GEARS UP: As the African Cup of Nations nears, the national team continues its intensive preparations. The Pharaohs won a four-nation friendly tournament in Cairo, downing Uganda 2-0, then Senegal 4-2 to win the LG tournament. Both games were played in the revamped Cairo Stadium, venue of the tournament's Group A, which includes Egypt, Libya, Morocco and the Ivory Coast. In Alexandria on Thursday, Egypt easily beat Zimbabwe 2-0. Egypt was scheduled to meet Nigeria on 9 January for more training but just two days before the match, the Nigerian Football Association apologised, saying they would not be able to come because of financial problems with their governing body. "In that short time, there was no way to find a replacement," Egyptian Football Association spokesman Medhat Shalabi told the media. "The Nigerians asked to delay the match until 11 January in order to have some time to solve their internal problems, but the Egyptian head coach Hassan Shehata refused because his schedule will be affected," Shalabi said. Kenya and Ghana were other teams who were scheduled to play friendlies against Egypt but also were forced to make last- minute cancellations. Shalabi said the Egyptian federation had decided to file a protest to FIFA about Nigeria. "We had no chance to replace Nigeria with any other team as we did when Kenya apologised in the LG championship (Kenya was replaced by Uganda). We had booked the team in a hotel and called up our professional players," Shalabi said. The cancelled match caused huge mix ups after the European-based Egyptian players flew into Egypt for the game. Star striker Ahmed Hossam, who plays for Tottenham, immediately flew back to England to rejoin his club. Accordingly, it leaves Egypt with only one friendly match left against South Africa on 14 January. "We have already informed FIFA of the match in order so that they register it in its friendly matches agenda," Shalabi said. The Egyptian organising committee had planned to use the Nigeria match as a rehearsal for the ACN. "Our only chance for a final dress rehearsal will be the South Africa match on Saturday," he added. Meanwhile, on that day, the touch-ups continue. "We will try out everything in Cairo Stadium -- the spectators entrance through the electronic gates, bar-coded tickets, just like the ones which will be used in the ACN," said Khaled Abdel-Aziz, the ACN tournament director. All organisers as well as volunteers will be there doing their jobs as if the tournament has started," he added. "By that time, some media representatives will have arrived in Egypt and they too, will use the media centre." "If we receive any complaints concerning anything in the stadium's facilities, we will have six full days to fix the problem," Abdel-Aziz said.
