Following the Port Said disaster, the national league was suspended indefinitely. Inas Mazhar looks into the consequences on upcoming fixtures and the game's business future This is the second time the Egyptian Football Association has suspended the national league competition indefinitely in the past year. The first was immediately after the revolution of 25 January 2011. The competition resumed five months later. In the present situation, only the national league competition has been suspended and not international engagements. However, it is the domestic league which all national teams depend on for their preparations. Without the national competition, the future of Egyptian football remains unclear and the consequences can be critical to the technical performance of the national teams and clubs. It is also damaging to the sports business and market. Following the Port Said incident, the majority of the 19 clubs playing in the national competition announced they were either suspending football activities or withdrawing from the competition altogether. Some remained silent, probably to see which majority to follow. Some clubs decided to boycott the national competition in case it resumes. Ahli head coach Manuel Jose decided to continue with Ahli after previously asking to leave. A meeting with the club chairman Hassan Hamdi and other club members persuaded the Portuguese to stay on. Jose was awarded a vacation and left for his country for relaxation while the competition is suspended. Ittihad's coach Makida from Spain returned to his country until further notice. Even if the competition resumes, some players especially Ahli's, have vowed not to play again until it is found who was behind the Port Said disaster and are brought to justice. The list includes Mohamed Barakat, Mohamed Abu Treika, Hossam Ghali, Emad Meteb, Wael Gomaa and Sayed Moawad. But some say the comments were made in the heat of the moment, especially since some fans died in their arms. Zamalek's Shikaballa and Ahmed Hassan have also been in mourning and did not attend their training session this week. They were not punished. The decision to postpone the league indefinitely has caused confusion in the national football team which is preparing for both the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations qualifications and the 2014 World Cup qualifications. The Pharaohs were scheduled to meet Central Africa in the African qualifications on 29 February. It was reported that the EFA had appealed to the African Confederation (CAF) to postpone the match but according to the team manager Samir Adli they didn't. "It's not true. We haven't asked for a change of date," Adli told Al-Ahram Weekly. Diaa El-Sayed, head coach of the national team, confirmed Adli's denial. In preparation for the game, the Pharaohs were scheduled to enter a closed training camp starting 15 February and play two friendly matches against Botswana and Kenya. The games were against Botswana in Ismailia on 20 February and Kenya on 23 February in Port Said. The two matches are now cancelled. Egypt head coach Bob Bradley said he hoped Egyptian football would recover from the tragedy. Bradley was keen on paying tribute to the families of the victims and taking part in the peaceful march the day after the disaster, joining other top sports and football figures in Tahrir Square and Sphinx Square in Mohendesine in protest at the incident. The 53-year-old Bradley, who told Al Jazeera on Monday that he was committed to his position, also praised the role of football fans in the revolution, and hoped that Ahli players who had retired from football since being caught up in the killings in Port Said can one day play again for the national team. According to Bradley he was aware that it was a hard time for the national team without a board of directors running the EFA and that there will be various, often conflicting decisions "but we are technical coaches and will be waiting to see how other things go so we can draw up our plans." Bradley, the former head coach of the US, said that the future of the national team would be very important to him and will help him make his selection. He said he needed to know if it will be resumed and if yes would it be played with fans or without. "It will be our responsibility to find the right way forward as a national team." Amer Hussein, EFA head of competitions, confirmed that the suspension was restricted to only the national league competition and did not involve any international participation. "As a federation we are still required and compelled to respect all our commitments in the African qualifications and international events as the Olympic Games and the World Cup qualifications. We can't afford not to or else we'll be internationally suspended for at least two years, whether clubs or as a national team," Hussein told the Weekly. He added that the first international obligation for the Pharaohs is 29 February in the 2013 African qualifications against Central Africa, an away match. "Accordingly, there is no need for Egypt to ask for a delay of the game. But the problem is the national team players are under pressure and in shock. The players mental and physiological condition could be the only excuse for us to ask for a delay. Hussein added that the return game is scheduled to take place in Cairo in June in addition to two other World Cup qualifiers. "For the Pharaohs it's only that upcoming match this month. Then there will be nothing until June when three matches will be played. The first two are World Cup qualifiers against Mozambique in Egypt on 1 June, the second is an away match on 8 June against Guinea and on 16 June the return leg against Central Africa. "The first encounter for the clubs is on 3 March between Zamalek and Young Africans of Tanzania in Cairo. But they contacted CAF and asked for a change in date because of their national team engagements. CAF sent the EFA the request and we sent it to Zamalek to see whether they agree," Hussein said. Hussein told the Weekly that the situation regarding the national league resumption remained vague. "It's not clear now and it's not in our hands. We are certainly aware of the impact it will leave on the football industry on both the technical side and the market. We as a federation will lose a lot but we have to suspend it, at least indefinitely. "We still have to wait until the end of the investigations and identify who was responsible for the incident. This is the first step. According to the parliament, the results of the investigation will be revealed today (Thursday). Until then we can't take a decision by ourselves. It is a security issue and the government has to approve whatever decisions are to be taken. "The idea to resume the league without fans is an idea and could save the business but it is also a security issue and the Ministry of Interior has to approve it because fans sometimes enter the stadium by force as happened in a previous match in the past months. It could lead to another disaster and we don't need that. The coming days will see lots of discussion and by the way, we don't have to wait until a new board is elected as the secretary-general is already running the EFA according to the regulations." It seems that resuming the league without fans is the only way to save the football industry from collapsing. According to Hisham Zayed, head of sports marketing at the Pyramids Advertising Agency of Al-Ahram, the biggest such agency in Egypt and the Middle East in sports marketing and which handles all sports marketing in Egypt, the indefinite suspension of the league is a disaster and could become a catastrophe if not resumed. "The whole business will collapse. All parties involved will be affected and some of them might shut down. Those involved include the EFA, clubs, players, sponsors, stadiums, television and of course marketing and advertising agencies, including us," says Zayed. Zayed clarified the situation even more. "It's a whole business circle worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year. We as an agency buy the marketing and advertising rights of the matches from the federation, clubs and stadiums and sell these rights to sponsors, each being different. These sponsors pay the agency on installments according to their contracts and accordingly we pay the EFA, clubs and stadiums on installments, from which they pay everyone involved in the business -- players, administration, coaches and even the ball men and locker room people. Television stations also buy rights for broadcasting from the EFA for the various competitions and accordingly win big lucrative deals with advertisers. "So you can see how it is all linked. We are all in one boat which is struggling now to stay afloat. If the league remains suspended or cancelled each party will stop paying its own installment to the other. The sponsors will stop paying the agency so the agency will also stop paying the clubs and stadiums and the clubs will not be able to afford to pay its players because there is no income. "In this case I believe some clubs especially the smaller and poorer will face bankruptcy and might also cancel their activities. Sports channels will definitely record a huge loss and might shut down as will advertising and marketing companies. "That's why we hope that the league is resumed even without fans because the matches will still be televised and the sponsors will see their ads and everyone will be happy. The business and market will continue rolling," Zayed added. The National Sports Council together with the National Olympic Committee have called for unity in order to bring order back to Egyptian sports, save it, secure its future and fight violence and hooliganism. NOC Chairman Mahmoud Ali said that there should be an end to mourning because Egyptian sports are in a critical period as they prepare for the 2012 Olympic Games in July in London. "Ending the mourning doesn't mean we will forget our martyrs or injured in the Port Said incident. Indeed, we'll allocate part of the income of the matches to the Victims Families Fund. We believe that this league's trophy should be named The Martyrs' Trophy," Ali said. Emad El-Banani, head of the National Sports Council, said the NSC will respect and support the decision of the Egyptian Football Association General Assembly when they meet on 17 February to decide their future.
