Egyptian clubs might be forced to play the rest of their league campaign without their international players, Egyptian Football Association (EFA) vice-president Ahmed Shobeir said. The EFA are considering taking that decision to support Egypt's national team in their bid to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1990. Egypt coach Hassan Shehata has recently demanded the EFA to give him the green light to arrange several training camps before the Pharaohs begin the World Cup qualifiers' final phase in March 2009. If Shehata's request is to be fulfilled, Egyptian League matches would be halted more than once. In order to avoid that, the EFA consider not stopping the league regardless of Egypt's activities. “Egypt have many commitments that could result in the league being unstable,” Shobeir said in Al-Hayat channel. “That's why the EFA consider obliging clubs to continue the league without their international players. “That decision may frustrate some clubs but we are acting in the best interests of the national team.” The 1989/1990 Egyptian League campaign was suspended to give the Pharaohs sufficient time to prepare for the World Cup. Since then, the six-time African champions did not qualify for the gigantic world event. But they have a good chance to reach the 2010 South Africa finals after being handed a relatively easy draw in the final phase of the World Cup qualifiers. They will face Algeria, Rwanda and Zambia in Group C.
