The Egyptian Football Association decided on the fixtures for the football league Thursday while also specifying which stadiums will hold the Al-Ahly and Zamalek games.
The premier league teams were divided into two groups on 4 December and the association announced that the league would begin on 26 December.
The fixture draw had been previously suspended by the EFA pending security clearances from the Ministry of Interior.
In a meeting on Tuesday between the EFA and the competing teams, several issues were agreed upon, first of which that the games would be sold exclusively to Egyptian state television for EGP 70m. All games will be played at 2.30pm except for the Al-Ahly and Zamalek games, which will be played at 5.30pm. The Al-Ahly and Zamalek games will be held at either the Air Defence Stadium in the Fifth Settlement or the Entag Al-Harby Stadium, while Al-Masry games will be held at Al-Geish Stadium in Suez.
Al-Masry, Port Said’s main team, faced harsh criticism after the February 2012 Port Said Stadium massacre, where clashes after a game between Al-Ahly and Al-Masry resulted in more than 70 deaths. The Premier League has been subject to temporary cancellations after returning briefly in 2013, and was again suspended due to the 30 June mass protests and the ensuing series of clashes.
The initial draw resulted in the separation of the 22 teams into two groups. The groups are:
Group B
Al-Minya
Al-Zamalek
Ittihad El-Shorta
Haras Al-Hodood
Ismaily
Petrojet
Al-Masry
Qena
Talaea Al Geish
Telephonat Beni Suef
Wadi Degla
Group A
Al-Ahly
Arab Contractors
Dakhlia
ENPPI
El-Entag El-Harby
Al-Ittihad Al-Sakandary
Ghazl Al-Mahalla
Gouna
Misr Makasa
Raga’a
Somouha
The second draw determined the fixtures. The first week fixtures are:
Second Group:
Al-Zamalek v Al-Masry
Minya v Haras Al-Hodoud
Qena v Ismaily
Petrojet v Talaea Al Geish
Ittihad El-Shorta vWadi Degla
First Group:
El-Entag El-Harby v Al-Ahly
Masr Makasa v Gouna
ENPPI v Arab Contractors
Dakhlia v Mahalla
Raga’a v Ittihad
