Egyptian soccer clubs make long-awaited return to training

Egyptian soccer clubs will make a long-awaited return to training on Saturday since the novel coronavirus pandemic halted football action around the world in mid-March.

The league is set to resume on July 25, with strict hygiene protocols in place.

Egyptian Youth and Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhi said: “We have seen several countries like Germany, England, Spain and Italy have resumed their competitions. Egypt also can after taking all necessary measures.”

Egyptian Football Association president Amr El-Ganainy said: “I hope everyone works in the best interest of soccer in Egypt.”

While it is good news for football in the country, there has been criticism of the resumption as Covid-19 cases continue to rise rapidly in Egypt.

As of Wednesday, there have been 47 856 Covid-19 infections in Egypt, the second-most in Africa with South Africa reporting the highest number with 76 334. There have been 1766 Covid-19 deaths in Egypt, with 12 730 recoveries.

The current infections in Egypt are also caused for major concern. On June 1, there were 18 932 current infections with that number skyrocketing to 33 360 by Tuesday.

In contrast, Tanzania have not had a new Covid-19 infection in five weeks after reaching 509 total cases on May 8.

The encouraging numbers meant the Tanzanian Premier League made a safe and successful return to competition over the weekend after a three-month break due to the pandemic, with the focus quickly shifting to the title-hunt.

In partnership with ANA and Sports Leo