CAIRO - Egyptian giants Al-Ahly returned home Saturday after a 14-day training camp in the United Arab of Emirates (UAE), where they played three friendlies, in preparation for their African clash in the 32nd round of the African Champions League (ACL) match against Ethiopian Coffee in Addis Ababa later this month. Ahly technical coach Manuel José da Silva has given the players a 24-hour rest, before they resume training Monday in preparation for the African tie against Ethiopian Coffee on March 25. The Red Devils will travel to Ethiopia only two days before the game, in order to adjust to the rarefied atmosphere there. Al-Ahly are set to play two more friendlies, on March 15 and 19, before they travel. The team played three friendlies in the UAE, losing two and winning the third. Ahly defeated Dubai of the Emirates 1-0, while losing to Kuwaiti club of Kuwait 3-2 and to the Emirates club 4-3. "The UAE camp was useful for the players," José told the semi-official newspaper Al-Gomhuria. “It helped them come to terms with the Port Said tragedy. It helped them deal with their grief and anger. Getting away from Egypt for a couple of weeks was very important," he explained. José told the same newspaper that he has yet to decide whether to renew his contract with Al-Ahly or not, given the current situation in Egypt. The Red Devils returned to training at the end of last month after a long absence, in the wake of the deadly scenes they witnessed in Port Said. On February 1, in this normally peaceful Mediterranean city, a match between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly turned violent, claiming the lives of at least 74 Al-Ahly fans and injuring around 1,000 more. Seconds after the final whistle, thousands of supporters of Port Said team Al-Masry invaded the pitch, hurling bottles and rocks at the fans of Cairo's Ahly. Ahly Club has in principle declared that the first week of every February will be known as ‘Al-Ahly Martyrs' Week'. The Premier League has been postponed, while most soccer clubs have suspended all their sporting activities and declared 40 days of mourning. They include Al-Ahly Club, whose period of mourning ends today. According to media reports, the team's key players Abdullah Al-Said, Wael Gomaa and Emad Mete'b may be absent from the ACL clash against Ethiopian Coffee. Before travelling to the UAE, Sayyed Abdel-Hafez, the Ahly football director, said that the club, players and coaching staff will never neglect the martyrs' rights. "We are waiting for the results of the investigation into the Port Said events. We cannot think about resuming local sporting activities, until the martyrs get their rights. Of course, the perpetrators must be punished,” he commented. Azmi Megahed, the spokesman of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), said that the board members of the temporary committee that is currently running the EFA have decided to appoint the trio Taha Ismail, Mahmoud Saad and Shawqi Abdel-Shafei to take the helm of the EFA's technical committee. "The EFA has a technical committee of three experts, whose job is to draw up the main outlines for the future of Egyptian soccer, as well as helping to organise the national teams' training camps and ties," Megahed said yesterday. "The technical committee will also suggest possible friendlies for the national teams in the near future," Megahed added. The temporary committee currently running the EFA is headed by Anwar Salah; the previous board members resigned in the wake of the Port Said tragedy.
