Egyptian football in danger

Egyptian coach Farouk Jaffer Cairo – Hisham Shahin Farouk Jaffer is a football player and the technical director of Tala'ea el-Gaish (The Army's Vanguards) sporting club. He took over the leadership of most Premier League clubs and the national team. The veteran athlete is hopeful the Egyptian national team will reach the World Cup final in Brazil. Arabstoday managed to have a chat with the football honcho. AT: How do you see the current state of Egyptian football? FJ: Totally unclear, due to the current events taking place in Egypt, especially after the recent struggle for presidency which is reflected in the sports arena. AT: What is your comment regarding the failure of the interior ministry in providing security for the Egypt Cup matches? FJ: We hoped the Egypt Cup would go on especially after the cancellation of the Football League. However, we do accept the status quo just for the benefit of all. AT: What's it like at the Tala'ea el-Gaish club? FJ: We decided to continue training along with playing friendly matches so that the players do not lose their physical and technical fitness and are not affected by the long period of suspension. AT: How big is the loss due to suspension? FJ: Over five million people have been affected, including players, coaches, technical officials, media figures and even dressing-room workers. AT: From your point of view, do you think the crisis affected the African Trio? FJ: Sure, the performance of Ahly and Zamalek, who participated in the African Champions League, as well as the performance of ENPPI in the African Confederation Cup is affected...friendly matches are useless because the player needs to play under pressure to excel, despite the fact that the trio were qualified for Round 16 of the tournament. AT: What is your opinion on Zamalek's performance? FJ: The players were seriously affected during the last round and were about to get out of the competition but for the referee who awarded them a penalty kick which stepped the team up to Round 16. AT: How do you see the confrontation between Zamalek and al-Maghreb al-Fassi turning out? FJ: Extremely difficult, due to the strength of the North African football team represented in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Al-Maghreb al-Fassi team is especially a very strong and organised team. AT: Do you think that the national team is capable of reaching the 2014 World Cup in Brazil? FJ: No one denies that the main aim now is to get to the finals after failing to qualify since 1990. However, the national team will suffer severely due to the lack of motivation which prepares the player physically and technically. AT: What are the chances of the Egyptain team in the London Olympics? FJ: This is considered as a breakthrough in itself because it includes excellent players. Hany Ramzy (a player for Egypti's national team) exerted much effort, however he will face challenges represented in Samba in the first place and his chance in defeating New Zealand and Belarus in the third place is great in the third group. We hope he achieves victory over Brazil to top the team and present himself strongly. AT: You have received a political offer, but you did not accept it. Is that true? FJ: Frankly speaking I am treated with respect and appreciation within the military council; the country right now needs nothing but stability. AT: What do you think about the recent sanctions imposed on Egyptian clubs? FJ: I hope everybody commits to decisions and judge with reason so that the Egyptian football is not affected. What happened in Port Said was a disaster by all means. Punishments should be imposed in such cases. However, we hope normalcy returns to Egyptian football by the beginning of next season.