The football tournament ACUD Cup in Cairo, which was won by Croatia on Tuesday, served Egypt to promote the stadium where they want to open the summer Olympic Games in 2036. The New Administrative Capital Stadium, with a capacity of 94,000 seats, is the second largest stadium in Africa. It was completed just a few days before arrival Luke Modrića and other Croatian national team members.
– It was the first step to show our Olympic center and new stadium – he said Amr Salmanthe representative of the Egyptian Football Association for Hina.
Egypt intends to apply to host the Olympic Games in 12 years, and by then a whole new city should spring up around the stadium. Considering that Cairo, in whose area about 24 million people live, has become overcrowded and choked with cars, the government has embarked on the “pharaonic” job of building a new city.
The New Administrative Capital, named so because the ministries and administration will be moved to it, is starting to emerge in the desert about 60 kilometers from the city. The wind carries dust and sand on the still unfinished road towards that future city, and the drivers try to navigate by going over potholes at the construction sites. Many find it difficult to navigate and are guided by a GPS device.
The drive to the football stadium takes an hour, and the 20-year-old football fanč Ahmad was excited when he arrived there on Tuesday for the match with Croatia.
– This will be the center of future Cairo, this is a magnificent stadium – he said. By the end of the year, the completion of the halls and other arenas is expected.
– Before we planned to organize a football tournament, the Minister of Sports Ashraf Sobhy said several times that Egypt has the infrastructure to organize the biggest sports competitions, he says. Mohamed Hany, CEO of Sports United. That company organized a tournament where Croatia, Egypt, Tunisia and New Zealand took part.
– The minister confirmed that they want to organize the Olympic Games – adds Hany.
But the organization is still not at the highest level. The Egyptian Football Association was supposed to secure entry visas for six Croatian journalists, but although it received a list of names and photos from Croatia, it did not send them to the police at the airport. Two journalists had to buy visas themselves, and one was detained at the station in the airport before being sent by car to the hotel of the Croatian national team 50 kilometers away, although he was not even supposed to be there.
A few minutes after the start of the final match with Croatia, some fans without tickets ran into the stadium, and security let them go without a detailed check. The employees at that new stadium did not know where the stand was for the press and where the fans were, and the home team gave up on organizing a media conference at the stadium.