CAIRO: When Algeria face Egypt in the final match of the African World Cup Qualifying Group C, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Up for grabs is a place in the next summer’s World Cup finals, a tournament neither team has qualified for since Egypt made it through qualification for Italy 1990. Algeria’s wait has been even longer, with no representation at football’s most revered tournament since 1986. Algeria go into the match with a huge advantage – they know they only have to avoid a four-goal defeat in order to qualify. In spite of their mammoth task, the Egyptian side is hopeful that a home-crowd advantage and a team hungry for success can overcome the deficit and avenge a defeat at the hands of their Algerian opponents back in July. As if a place at stake in the World Cup finals weren’t enough to raise tensions, this match also has a dark historical precedent. 20 years ago, with Algeria needing only a point in Cairo to qualify for the finals in Italy, Egypt won a controversial match 1-0, leading to ugly scenes inside the stadium and Algerian striker Lakhdar Belloumi smashing a bottle over the head of the Egyptian team doctor. Now, with both sides looking to avoid a repeat of those ugly scenes, Egyptian and Algerian media have admirably decided to act to defuse a potentially explosive situation. Independent Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm first launched a campaign florally entitled “A rose for every Algerian player†which, rather than giving bouquets to confused footballers, was aimed at decreasing feelings of violence and intolerance between both sets of fans. This was followed by a similar campaign by another Egyptian daily, el-Shorouk, both of which were warmly received by the Algerian Minster of Communication, who ordered the Algerian press to avoid inflammatory headlines, whilst happily declaring that Egypt and Algeria’s historic ties are worth far more than the outcome of a football match. Tell that to the fans. The ultimate success of this campaign won’t be judged until November 14, when Algeria come to Cairo. While it is perhaps naive to believe that this new, and importantly self-imposed (on the Egyptian side at least) restraint can make all the difference, any move by media in the Middle East that aims at resolving rather than inflaming conflict should be welcomed. Up next from Bikya Masr: the Mighty Pharaohs look to crush the Desert Warriors BM
