In less than two months the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Egypt. Inas Mazhar joined a recent inspection tour of the tournament's venues The public is worried and so are the media. But the officials directly involved assure us there is no need for concern. "Everything is going to be fine and Egypt will host the most spectacular event in the history of the African Nations Cup." So said Khaled Abdel-Aziz, the 2006 tournament director. Al-Ahram Weekly decided to see for itself, joining Abdel-Aziz and Viken Djmedzian, the tournament assistant director of planning, media and the official spokesman, in an inspection tour of all have dozen stadiums. Cairo Stadium, the tournament's main venue, is due to be finished by mid-December. With brand new seating, it is the only stadium which has been completely refurbuished. The capacity of the stadium is now 75,000. A new electronic scoreboard was installed and new VIP lounges and cafeterias are ready to host world celebrities at the opening ceremony on 20 January. There's a newly-equipped media centre as well as TV and radio commentators' cabins. The press tribune will feature wireless Internet connections. Cairo Stadium will be the home ground of Group A which comprises Egypt, Morocco, the Ivory Coast and Libya. The Military Academy, near Cairo Airport, and the venue for Group B, is also ready. Two stadiums in Alexandria are also ready with only minor changes to be made The Boarder Guards Stadium, known as Max Stadium, will host Group C matches, while Alexandria Stadium will host only one match, the decisive qualifying encounter between Ghana and Zimbabwe. Alexandria Stadium has been described by many delegations who have been visiting it for the past two months as a precious stone or bijous by one French team. However, the capacity of the stadium, less than 25,000 seats, means that it will host only one game. The organisers decided to make it a training ground for all four teams playing in Alexandria. It will also host the main accreditation centre and media centre in the city. "They say that Group C is the easiest," Djmedzian said. "But you have two teams, Tunisia, the defending champions, and South Africa. These two teams attract international media from everywhere, and that's why we will allocate a 400- seat tribune for the press in addition to the radio and TV commentary positions." Port Said will host Group D teams, the toughest of them all and so is expected to host many visitors as well as international media. Accordingly, the organisers have allocated a big press tribune for the media reporting on this group. Ismailia will hold the decisive third match of Group D. The distance between the two cities is 80kms (45 minutes). Ismailia fans are upset that they will host only one match. They were expecting to host the whole group, but the absence of major hotels save one made it difficult to allocate an entire group. "We need at least five hotels in one city," said Abdel-Aziz. "Two for teams since the rules stipulate that two teams stay in one hotel. We also need a hotel for CAF officials, one for the referees and another for the media. "Almost 95 per cent of the work is done. What is left are the final touches to the stadiums, and we will start on that after mid- December when the national league championship is stopped in preparation for the Nations Cup," Abdel-Aziz said. "We'll be in control of all the stadiums. After the Army Forces refurbished the stadiums, we stopped our work temporarily because there were league matches taking place in these stadiums. We also felt it would be best to set up the press tribunes shortly before the Nations Cup kicks off for fear of being damaged by fans. "The public and the media are not aware of all these matters and accuse us of being slow and suspect our readiness to host the tournament. But I want to allay their fears and concerns and say that everything will be fine. We are doing well." On-line ticketing has started on the official web site of the tournament (www.egypt2006.com.eg). The public can now make their bookings for collective or day tickets cash or by visa. Home fans should provide an address where the tickets are to be delivered in return for LE3 for delivery. Home fans have another option: to collect their tickets from the nearest post office. "Unfortunately, there will be no overseas delivery of tickets," said Djmedzian said. "Foreigners can make their bookings through the Internet but the tickets will not be delivered to their door like those living here. They can purchase their tickets upon their arrival in Egypt. Therefore, they should either provide an address in Egypt, of a hotel or a friend, or they can collect their tickets from the headquarters of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) at the Ministry of Youth building on the 11th floor. Delivery fees will cost them LE10. The LOC has set a deadline of 15 December for on-line ticketing where a special discount will be given. Djmedzian said the tournament is expected to attract more than 1,000 media representatives from the written press, radio and TV. "We have prepared hi-tech media centres in all venues with all facilities available like telephone lines, faxes, ISDN lines, wireless Internet connections. We want to make the media's job easy. The main media centre will be located at the International Conference Hall, close to Cairo Stadium. It will host up to 1,500 media representatives." The LOC has allocated several media hotels in all four venues. The media hotels do not necessarily contain media centres or other specialised media facilities, but generally offer international dialing, fax services, on-line facilities, laundry services, food availability and have the advantage of being situated on the route for the media shuttle bus to the stadiums. "We have chosen different categories with different prices, for everyone to select according to his budget. The names and prices are available at the tournament's web site and the media can make their bookings through our official partner, the tournament's travel agency." The travel agency will also be responsible for the accommodation and transportation of the teams, officials and delegations. "A welcome desk from the LOC accommodation committee will also be present in these hotels to try to solve any problems for the media." Djmedzian said. The LOC has started interviewing volunteers needed for accompanying the delegations, media and guests during the three-week tournament. "We have received hundreds of applications from students and post-graduates," said assistant tournament director Mazen Marzouq. "We are looking for dynamic young people who will work in the stadiums, the media centres, the hotels and hospitality areas. They will also accompany the teams and VIP's according to their language capabilities. "They must be multilingual (Arabic, English and French) of proper appearance and good personality, football enthusiasts, preferably young and have spare time to commit themselves for at least one month during the tournament," Marzouq added. Croconile, the tournament's mascot, and the refurbished Cairo Stadium
