Moment of Truth.. African Championship Not Only About Stadiums

By: Elham Aboul Fateh

We have all seen the draw ceremony of the African Nations Championship which was held by the Pyramids of Giza.. this wonderful place housing the only remaining world's wonders on earth.. for the whole world to see the civilization and history of Egypt, but also stand amazed in front of 'global' things.. that is, the largest pyramid, Sphinx with all lights and colors in between, all beside the celebrating panel.. in the attendence of representatives from 24 teams taking part in the champion. Something that is really fit to the greatness of Egypt, but also affirming that she had strong might.

Despite the short time - less than 4 months – since Egypt was assigned to organize thetournament, in a trust gesture to its government, stadiums and infrastructure, the draw ceremony was amazing. This is not only in terms of the organization but it also pleased us all and gave us hope after the draw saw Egypt getting with the teams of Congo, Uganda and Zimbabwe. We all do trust our nationla team to get eventually qualified for the finals, and win the championship. Egyptians have history in winning this specifice championship. Egypt is the most frequent country to win it but also to organize this tournament. In addition, Egypt is the first country to organize it in its new version, and this comes by the time Egypt is chairing the African Union.. where Africa is coming to be a constant interest in the agenda of Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.

President El Sisi is paying frequent visits to African countries. The last was a visit to Senegal, preceded by a visit to Guinea, after a meeting Donald Trump in Washington DC. That was also the first time where a visit to the US comes within a tour in Africa.. this is really symbolizing the leadership of Egypt and that it takes its presidency of the African Union seriously, a new phase for the real economic development of the continent.

Recently, we saw great interest in the stadiums which are to host the tournament, we saw also the field visits by the prime minister and the ministers to the places and the directions to reorganize, restore, and maintainence orders for some of those in Cairo, Alexandria, Ismaiilia and Suez.

A great effort is attributed to the government and all those who are in charge of organizing the tournament.  But the championship is not just about stadiums .. There are fans and the public and officials who all will be hosted.. and it's only two months left for the start the tournament .. I did not find preparations in the streets and roads .. certainly we are now having a network of main roads that is capable to bear the masses, but we need rehabilitate the internal streets and raise their efficiency, remove all abandoned cars, ban impropoer car parking. We need also to light the streets overlooking the stadiums but also prepare the archaeological sites and hotels and transport network that will transport the masses .. We want an organization that surpasses our amazing organization for the 2006 tournament.

We want to start cooperation between all ministries and agencies to achieve the maximum benefit from this Egyptian-African rapprochement in light of AFCON staged in Egypt.

We want the immediate start of preparing the streets and squares and a transportation system that should be reflecting all the efforts and achievements of President El Sisi, especially with the presence of direct flights to large number of African countries, including those 24 participating in the tournament. This is also a chance for investors. And here, I call upon the Minister of Investment Dr. Sahar Nasr to organize an investment conference to take place at the same time of the tournament. This would allow us to bring together chances for tourism and investment along with sport.

Worth noting that the launch of the draw at one of the oldest archaeological sites in the world (the pyramids) is itself a big promotion for tourism in Egypt, which really started to recover thanks to a minister who is working hard; Minister Dalia Al Mashat.

But still we have to improve the quality of services provided to our guests and to work honestly and with hospitality to reflect a good image for Egypt and Egyptians. If we succeed in hosting the masses there will be a major push for Egyptian tourism. We all need to join hands and stand together in support for our country and our president and to challenge red tape and obstacles to provide a beautiful image of Egypt that whole world talks about.

The organization of the African Nations Championship in Egypt is great, and everyone should come together to reflect an image that fits  us and gives a message to the world that Egypt is capable of organizing all local, African and international tournaments.

Oh God! Please make my dream, as well as all Egyptians', comes true that a championship will be greatly organized, to fit Egypt and its history and civilization but also to win its cup.