CAIRO: Up to 20,000 fans will be allowed to attend the Egypt-Chad World Cup qualifier match scheduled for Nov. 17 at Borg al-Arab Stadium, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) executive director Tharwat Sweilam announced Saturday.
The statement follows an approval from Egypt’s Interior Ministry, Sweilam said.
Egyptian Football Association president Gamal Allam urged the ministry to increase the number of fans allowed to attend the match to 30,000, adding that the tickets of the match will be available starting from Nov. 9.
The first leg of the game is scheduled to be held at in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena Nov. 14.
The EFA and the Interior Ministry decided to hold football games behind closed doors shortly after the last year’s Air Defense stadium disaster in which over 20 fans were killed in a stampede after being teargassed by police while entering the stadium.
Earlier this month, the (EFA) said in a statement it is developing a new system for the return of spectators during Premier League matches.
“The federation, in coordination with ministers of youth and interior, is considering hiring a private security company to secure football matches at stadiums across Egypt,” the federation spokesperson Mahmoud al-Shami was quoted by Youm7.
Egypt’s 2012-2013 football season was cancelled due to the 30 June protests that toppled Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.