Egyptian football is in turmoil again, this time over the fallout from the Pharaohs’ shock defeat against Ethiopia and the on-air firing of the national coach after just three games in charge.
Egyptian Ehab Galal succeeded Carlos Queiroz two months ago after the Portuguese failed to agree terms to extend his contract.
But a 2-0 defeat against Ethiopia in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying last week left Egyptians fuming and calling for the coach’s head even before the 4-1 friendly defeat against South Korea on Tuesday. “It is more than a defeat, it is rather a total domination by Ethiopia, a country 140th in World ranking just 108 steps behind Egypt” remarked a senior pundit.
Gamal Allam, head of the Egyptian Football Association, called in to a popular TV talk show this week to say that two members of the EFA board were already looking at possible replacements for Galal, effectively sacking him live on air.
Galal, according to local media reports, learnt of his dismissal when he was about to board a plane to Seoul. He bade the players farewell after the South Korea friendly and flew to the US for a holiday.
Gamal Allam said Galal was making 750,000 Egyptian pounds a month (about $40,000), while his Portuguese predecessor Queiroz was cashing in $127,000 a month.
The quick Ethiopian forwards repeatedly troubled a slow Egyptian defense in the opening half and goals from Dawa Hotessa and Captain Shemeles Bekele sealed a comfortable victory.
Alaa Abdel Al, a football pundit known for his forthright comments, also took aim at Allam. “We handed the sport to someone who had never thrown in the ball, let alone kick it.”
Egyptian football in disarray after coach is effectively sacked on live TV
In A First, 2026 FIFA World Cup To Be Co-Hosted By 3 Different Countries
FIFA President Gianni Infantino warned Canada, Mexico, and the United States to prepare for a football “invasion” on Thursday as the host cities for the 2026 World Cup were revealed
FIFA President Gianni Infantino warned Canada, Mexico, and the United States to prepare for a football “invasion” on Thursday as the host cities for the 2026 World Cup were revealed. The first-ever World Cup co-hosted by three different countries will also see a record number of teams taking part, increasing by 16 from 32 to 48 as the tournament returns to North America for the first time since the 1994 finals.
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The 16 venues named on Thursday include 11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.
All of the US games will be held in venues that are home to NFL teams, with the likes of the $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and the New York Giants’ 82,000-seater MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford tipped to host the final.
A total of 60 of the 80 games in the tournament including all knockout games from the quarter-finals onwards will take place at US venues.
Mexico City’s iconic Azteca Stadium host of the 1970 and 1986 World Cup finals was included among three Mexican venues along with the cities of Monterrey and Guadalajara.
Vancouver and Toronto will stage the Canadian games in the tournament.
Infantino meanwhile said 2026 would eclipse the 1994 finals in the United States — which holds the record for the highest total attendance — in every respect.
“2026 will be much, much bigger,” Infantino said. “I think this part of the world doesn’t realise what will happen in 2026.
“These three countries will be turned upside down and then flipped again. The world will be invading Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“They will be invaded by a big wave of joy and happiness.”
Infantino said he hoped the World Cup would spur the development of football in the region further.
“In this part of the world you are leading the world in many areas. But in the number one sport in the world, soccer or football, you are not, yet,” he said. “The objective must be that you are leading the world in the world’s number one sport.”
A decision on which venues would host marquee matches such as the World Cup final and opening game had not yet been taken.
“We still have to discuss that, we still have to analyse that,” Infantino said. “We will take a decision in due course.”
However Infantino revealed that given the vast geographical spread of staging the tournament across North America, FIFA was looking at basing teams in regional “clusters” to minimise travel.
“When you’re dealing with such a large region as North America we need to care about the fans and make sure that teams are playing in clusters, that fans and teams don’t have to travel crazy distances,” Infantino said.
Super Bowl pedigree
The list of US venues stretch from coast to coast, featuring several cities that hosted games in the 1994 World Cup finals. However no actual stadium venues from the 1994 tournament will repeat in 2026.
Other venues include the Dallas Cowboys giant AT&T Stadium in Arlington and the Miami Dolphins’ Hard Rock Stadium. Seven of the 11 venues named Thursday have hosted the Super Bowl.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium — the loudest stadium in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records also made the cut.
NFL venues in Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Houston, Boston and Philadelphia were also on the list.
However there was no place for Washington D.C. on the venues list. It means the 2026 tournament will be the first World Cup since the 1974 finals in the then West Germany not to feature a host’s capital city.
Colin Smith, FIFA’s chief competitions and events officer, acknowledged Washington’s absence after an “incredibly competitive” bid process.
“This was a very very difficult choice,” Smith said. “It’s hard to imagine a World Cup coming to the US and the capital city not taking a major role.”
Smith meanwhile said some of the NFL venues would require slight modifications to widen “pinch points” but said stadium capacity would not be affected.
“The number of fans who are going to be able to experience this World Cup will probably be double than what we’ve previously had,” he said.
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“World Cup 1994 holds the record for attendance and that’s going to be blown out of the water.”
THE HORN-SECOND DRAFT
The ‘Horn of Africa’ consists of the countries of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. Out of these four, Ethiopia covers the lion’s share of the geographical space. Ethiopia’s land area is estimated to be about 1.1 million square kilometers, while the smallest, Djibouti has 23 thousand square kilometers. Somalia’s land mass is just over half of Ethiopia’s, while that of Eritrea’s is around 117 thousand square kilometers. Population wise; Ethiopia again dominates the region, with about 120 million people. Somalia is next with about 16 million and then comes Eritrea with about 6 million. Djibouti’s total population is roughly one million. Collectively the Horn houses a total human population of about 143 million!
In regards to ethnic composition; Djibouti is predominantly Somalis (60%) and Afaris (35%). Eritrea is mostly Tigrays and Tigres, making about 85% of the population. These groups belong to the Semitic branch of the Afro-asiatic speaking people. The rest are from the Cushitic segment of the Afro-asiatic speakers. Somalia is 85% Somalis of various clans, and the rest are mostly of Bantu stock. Ethiopia is a kaleidoscope of ethnicity. Diverse ethnic groupings collectively number around 80. About 90 languages and dialects are spoken in Ethiopia. In regards to religion, 99.8% of the Somalis and 94% of the Djiboutian practice Islam. In Eritrea, the Christians number is around 63% while the Moslems are around 36%, according to recent compilation by the Pew Research Center. 34% of Ethiopians are Moslems and 62% are Christians, amongst which 43.5% belong to the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The Horn is a semi-arid region, to a very large extent. Climate change, environmental degradation (loss of top soil, vegetation, etc.) as well as population explosion continue to affect all the territories of the Horn. These are common challenges that need serious cooperation by all states and peoples of the Horn. Limited agriculture is practiced in Somalia and Eritrea. The significant arable land in the region is found in Ethiopia. Even here, and given the ever-rising population, climate change, etc., structural food deficit has become an entrenched phenomenon. On top of these or may be because of these, wide spread droughts have become frequent and severe across the region. To arrest the ongoing and visibly increasing conflicts, which can easily lead to regional instability, serious collaborative initiatives must be braved by all and sundry. For a start, Horn wide meaningful population stabilization program must be launched in earnest. Feeding the existing 143 million strong is not easy; to say nothing about the future!
A lot must be done to bring lasting peace and harmony to the Horn. The sought after development of the region (always dangled in front of us) must be based on realistic assumptions predicated on the specificity of the locale. Cookie cutter proposals will not do, as we increasingly face the grave consequences of man-made and natural calamities. Make-believe narratives that do not hold water, should not be allowed to inform our major policy decisions. The nonsensical economic growth dogma, which doesn’t take into account the various limits to growth, must be replaced by more resilient paradigm. Admitted or not, deprivation is the order of the day in our so-called rising Africa. Daily, thousands of economic refugees flee Africa, desiring to enter the European Union. They feel their prospect at home is quite bleak. Such mass migration is obviously not sustainable.
Diversity is not always a problem, though it is always a challenge to manage it. Ethiopia remains one of the most diverse countries on earth and so far it had managed, willy-nilly, to survive. In contrast, relatively homogenous Somalia has been in utter chaos for the last three decades. Granted, bringing lasting peace/harmony to the Horn will be a formidable challenge. On the other hand and unlike before, the dominant interests of our world system seem to have reached a loose consensus as to the future of the Horn. If this assessment of ours is correct, what remains is: Can the Horn collectively leverage its strategic position to accrue peace and other dividends, going forward?
