CAIRO: In an attempt to ease the tension between Egypt and Algeria, Ahly president Hassan Hamdi decided to head his side’s contingent that will travel to JS Kabylie in mid-August.
The bilateral diplomatic relations between both countries have been anything but stable since the infamous clashes that followed last year’s World Cup decider in Sudan.
A group of Algerian hooligans allegedly assaulted a number of Egyptian fans after the Desert Foxes downed Egypt 1-0 to qualify for the quadrennial competition back in November.
After a wave of anger at the unfortunate post-match incidents, several prominent Egyptian figures led serious reconciliation efforts.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak flew to the North African Country early in July to offer condolences to his Algerian counterpart Abdul-Aziz Bouteflika over the death of his brother.
On July 18th, Kabylie beat Egypt’s Ismaili 1-0 away in a Champions League violence-free match, before the visitors had been warmly received in Ismailia.
However, there are still fears that Ahly’s meeting with Kabylie might reignite anxiety as the Egyptian champions boast the majority of the Egyptian national team stars.
"Hamdi will go to Algeria in order to make sure that everything is back to normal between the football fans of both countries," Ahly football director Hadi Khashaba told FilGoal.com.
Kabylie are on top of Group B with six points, two ahead of second-placed Ahly.
Heartland lie third in the same group while Ismaili are languishing at the bottom with no points.
