CAIRO - The Egyptian Football Association (EFA), headed by Anwar Saleh, has decided to enter Egypt's Olympic national team instead of the senior national team for the Arab Football Cup, due to be held in Jeddah and Al-Taif, an EFA statement said. "After the approval of the Arab Football Association, the EFA agree that the Olympic team will take part in the Arab Football Cup in Saudi Arabia from June 22 to July 4," it added. The EFA statement explained that the participation of the Young Pharaohs comes as part of a plan to prepare the Olympic team for the Olympic Games in London. The Egyptian senior team have excused themselves from participating in the Arab Cup, as they're busy preparing for the World Cup qualifiers. They will start the 2014 World Cup qualifiers in June when they host Mozambique; a week later, they will play their second game in the group against Guinea, away from home, before facing Central Africa in the 2013 ACN qualifiers in mid-June. The coaching staff of the Y-Pharaohs are delighted with the EFA decision, as it's a great chance for them to play more friends ahead the Olympic Games in London from July 27 to August 12. The Arab Cup will feature Egypt, Saudi Arabia (the host country), the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Libya, Morocco and Yemen. Every team participating in the Arab Cup will receive $200,000, with the winners being awarded $1 million and the runners-up $600,000.
