CAIRO - Egypt's ex-footballer and mediaman Ahmed Shobeir has launched a sharp attack on an Egyptian Football Association (EFA) decision to refuse to play an international friendly game against Brazil in September 6th, describing the decision as a "joke". “How can EFA turn down such a valuable game with the silly excuse that the Egyptian team have a game against Sierra Leone?” Shobeir asked Egyptian radio station Shabab Wal Riada (Youth and Sports). He added that everyone knows the Sierra Leone game is not important for us, especially as the Pharaohs have failed to qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations finals. “Doesn't the EFA realise that playing Brazil at this difficult time could boost tourism in the country?” he asked. Egypt has decided to postpone the friendly against Brazil because of the African champions' tight schedule, according to Samir Zaher, the chairman of the EFA. Many other people are also critical of this decision. “Playing against Brazil would be of great importance. This is why we have asked the Brazilian Football Confederation [CBF] to put it off till another, more suitable date,” Zaher told The Egyptian Gazette, adding that the EFA has asked the CBF for an October date for the match. “We have official international games at around the proposed date, which is why the EFA has turned down the proposed date and asked the Brazilians to choose another one,” he stresses. Egypt, who are virtually out of the 2012 ACN finals will play Sierra Leone away, either on September the 2nd, 3rd or 4th, before hosting Niger in the final group game nearly a month later. The Pharaohs are in last place in Group G with two points, as South Africa have eight points, Niger six and Sierra Leone five. Zaher explains that the EFA has asked the Brazilian side to postpone the game, not cancel it, as some media reports have claimed. "We also need to draw up the schedule for the new Premier League season, to see what dates are free to play the game," he adds. “The committee, which is studying the CVs of the three candidates for the post of technical coach of the national team, has yet to finish its report,” Zaher told the same newspaper, pointing out that many people inside the EFA would like Diaa el-Sayyed, Egypt's U-20 coach, to be appointed as the general coach of the senior national team. Egypt haven't played since June, when Hassan Shehata quit. Former USA coach Bob Bradley, Colombian Francisco Maturana and Zoran Filipovic, the former Montenegro coach, are the three candidates being considered by the EFA for the job. Following Brazil's 3-2 friendly defeat by Germany, the CBF announced that it had pushed back friendly games against Italy and Spain in October and November to 2012, and would play Egypt and Costa Rica teams in September and October instead. Egypt last met Brazil in the FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa in 2009, where they played a great 90 minutes, only to suffer a 4-3 defeat.
