CAIRO: The 17th FIFA U-20 World Cup will kick off today with a match between Egypt and Trinidad and Tobago in the Egyptian Army Stadium in Alexandria.
The match will be preceded by a 15-minute ceremony in the attendance of President Hosni Mubarak and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter.
The tournament goes on until Oct. 16.
We are reassured that everything is in place; no country could have done more than what Egypt achieved in such a period of time, Jack A. Warner, FIFA vice-president and Organizing Committee chairman, said in a press conference Wednesday.
We are happy that Egypt, a country where football is like a religion, is hosting the second biggest tournament organized by FIFA with all this business and governmental support to the tournament, he added.
While all eyes will be on Egypt, more than 60 talent scouts representing top European clubs will be looking for future talents like Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Luis Figo whose launching pad was the U-20 World Cup.
With players like Mohamed Talaat, Ahmed Shokry, Moaz El Henawy and Mohamed Abu Gabal, the Egyptian team is aiming for the top spot and breaking their third place record reached in Argentina in 2001.
For that purpose, the team s Czech coach Miroslav Sokoup and his assistants, former national team captain Hany Ramzy and Mohamed El Saify intensified training at a preparation camp where the team played more than 40 games against teams representing various football schools.
However, Ramzy expressed concern that his players may not be capable of coping with the heavy media exposure and large attendance in stadiums because they are not used to it.
We are looking forward to the support of our fans; however, I am worried that we may lose concentration in front of expected fans pressure, he told FIFA.com.
For that purpose, the Egyptian Football Association assigned a psychologist to accompany the team and hold sessions to prepare the players for the situation.
We hope that as the tournament begins with the team’s good results, football fever runs high among the fans and more and more people start attending the matches and eventually contribute to the success of the tournament, said Hani Abu Reda, LOC chairman and FIFA executive committee member.
The team is comprised of local players who play at youth sectors in Egyptian clubs, with Al-Ahly contributing with nine players.
On the other hand, the Caribbean opponent qualified after emerging fourth from the CONCACAF continental tournament and will be counting on players like striker Sean De Silva, Qian Grosvenor, Daniel Joseph and Marcus Joseph in midfield to mark their second participation in the tournament.
Both teams will be seeking to snatch the three points of the game before they play against stronger group contenders Italy and Paraguay.
With the participation of 24 teams divided into six groups, the first and second of each group as well as the best four teams who finish in third place qualify to the next stage.
Absent from the tournament are title holders Argentina, but the tournament will see the first ever international participation for Tahiti and Venezuela.
Experts tipped Brazil, Nigeria and Germany as favorites to claim the title.
However, teams like Italy, Spain and Brazil didn t call their star players for the tournament as their clubs refused to release them in the middle of the domestic leagues.
Warner said that this tournament makes players and not the opposite.
We will witness very high competition and no team should be underrated; especially after Argentina s failure to qualify and the emergence of new teams, he told Daily News Egypt.
Egypt invested heavily in developing the infrastructure of its stadiums, building three new ones in Cairo (Al Salam Stadium), Alexandria (Egyptian Army Stadium) and Suez (Mubarak Stadium)
Complete renovations were carried out in existing venues in Port Said, Ismailia and Alexandria turning them into all-seated stadiums, changing the pitch, installing electronic monitors and equipping them with communication infrastructure.
These good facilities are the real legacy that the tournament will leave to Egypt, Warner said.
The organizing committee also recruited more than 1,500 volunteers to help in stadium security, traffic flow around stadiums during matches and facilitate attendees’ entry and exist as well as providing assistance to media personnel and guests.
Health precautions against swine flu were taken by a health committee headed by Hani Moro, including six ambulance cars on alert in each stadium and establishing a communication network with various hospitals.
