In the wake of the Port Said soccer tragedy, the Egyptian Football Association officially called off the league season, reports Ahmed Morsy More than 40 days after the Port Said disaster which killed 74 football supporters, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) cancelled the rest of this season's league matches. There were 19 games remaining to mark the end of the season, but the national competition will now be replaced with a friendly tournament scheduled to run from 29 March to 18 May, the EFA announced on Saturday. This is the fifth time the Egyptian national football competition is cancelled after the 1954/55, 1970/71, 1973/74 and 1989/90 seasons. The current 2011/2012 season was first postponed indefinitely after 74 spectators died in a riot following a match in Port Said between Masri and title holders Ahli on 1 February. EFA spokesman Azmi Megahed said 18 teams, divided into two groups, will now play in a friendly tournament in empty stadiums starting later this month. Although the national league featured 19 teams, the friendly competition, called "The Martyrs' Cup", will exclude Masri, which was partly blamed for the Port Said soccer stampede, the worst in Egypt's history. The Martyrs' Cup, named after those who have died since Egypt's revolution began on 25 January last year, will comprise the league teams divided into two groups, playing a single round-robin. The first two teams from each group will meet over one semi-final tie. The final is scheduled for 18 May. The tournament is due to be played behind closed doors and only in military stadiums as a security precaution. The winner will be allowed to participate in the Arab Champions League in 2013 as motivation. "Revenues from the tournament will be allocated to families of the victims of the Port Said riot," Megahed added. The Egyptian Cup will take place immediately after the end of the tournament, Megahed said. The EFA decided to hold the Egyptian Cup, the country's second most important domestic competition, on 25 May but the clubs will not be able to feature their international players due to Egypt's commitments in the Africa Nations Cup and World Cup qualifiers, according to the EFA statement. "The season will not resume given the tight schedule due to Egypt needing to play qualifying matches for the Africa Nations Cup, the London Olympic Games, and the 2014 World Cup. Players are unable to participate in local competitions," Megahed told Al-Ahram Weekly. Amer Hussein, competitions committee chief, said the new Egyptian football league season will kick off on 24 August. EFA is expected to announce sanctions it will impose on Masri in the next few days. Many football figures and pundits have called on the EFA's interim board of directors, which took over following the resignation of the Samir Zaher-led board, to relegate the coastal club to a lower division. Given their persistent financial problems, few Premier League clubs supported the EFA decision to cancel the league. Farouk Gaafar, manager of Al-Gaish, attacked the decision. "Who took the decision to cancel the league season? People sitting in cafes could make a better decision," Gaafar told a TV programme on the Modern Sports channel. "I demand the resumption of the competition. I think it is really bad for Egypt's reputation to hold a so-called friendly tournament," Gaafar asserted. "Football is a big business and cancelling the competition will cost clubs, players, media and all the people involved a lot of money." Elsewhere, Haras Al-Hedoud coach Tarek El-Ashri asked the EFA to clarify whether his team will participate in next season's African Champions League after the domestic competition was scrapped. "I am not against the league cancellation but I want to know whether we will be considered the league champions? Will we take part in the upcoming edition of the CAF Champions League?" El-Ashri wondered aloud to Ahram Sport. Haras Al-Hedoud were top of the 19-team table after 17 matches, one point ahead of Ahli, when play was stopped. Egypt's lawmakers are still investigating who was behind the deadly violence in Port Said stadium. During a meeting on Sunday, Ultras fans of Ahli and Zamalek, Egypt's two biggest football clubs, demanded swift justice for the deaths of the mainly Ahli fans Describing their gathering as "historic," the once bitter foes gathered in Cairo's Nasr City to discuss the updates in Egypt's worst-ever football disaster. "We demand full transparency in revealing the outcome of the investigations. We will neither accept disregarding the disaster and turning it into a football riot nor make it a scapegoat to protect those who orchestrated the attacks," the statement read. "We will not accept wrongful accusations against anyone simply because he belongs to the Ultras groups. We will also not allow any football activities to resume unless complete justice is served." "We are ready to sacrifice our lives for the sake of our country." Meanwhile, Egypt's national team coach Bob Bradley and Olympic team tactician Hani Ramzi have agreed to hold two friendly games between the two sides in the next few days as their preparation for upcoming international competitions. The Pharaohs are preparing to play two games in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. They will face Mozambique and Guinea on 1 and 8 June respectively. They will then meet the Central African Republic on 30 June in qualifiers for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Egypt's under-23 team are preparing to participate in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the country's first football appearance at the Summer Games since 1992 in Barcelona.
