PORT SAID: Masry will fly to Saudi Arabia on Nov. 14 to face Ittihad Jeddah as part of the team s preparations for the Egyptian league. The Port Said club will meet Ittihad on Nov. 16, and Coach Hossam Hassan is set to announce the traveling squad after the Police Union game on Thursday. The team will be headed by club vice-president Ali Faragallah, who has been acting as a temporary president since the sudden death of former Chairman Sayed Metwalli on Nov. 6. The friendly was in doubt following Metwalli s death, however, Hassan stressed that the fixture will go on as planned to make use of the upcoming international break where Egypt will face Benin in another friendly on Nov. 19. Meanwhile, Port Said governor Mostafa Abdel-Latif announced that the governorate will provide the club with the financial support necessary for the Ittihad trip. Masry are a proud icon of Port Said, and successive governors always made sure the club s interests were on the city s top list. The Governor s decision comes after National Sports Council president Hassan Saqr ordered a grant of L.E.1 million to the club in the wake of Metwalli s death. The late chairman took care of all the club s expenses during his time as head of the board on several stints since the early 1980s.
