By Andrew Warshaw
February 27 – The revenues earned by Egypt from three forthcoming friendlies in Qatar will be donated to the victims of the Port Said disaster following direct intervention from national coach Bob Bradley (pictured), the former United States World Cup coach.
“Head coach Bob Bradley took that initiative,” Samir Adly, Egypt’s managing director said.
“All the revenues will be donated to the families of the victims.”
Egypt’s worst football disaster, which occurred on February 1, left 74 fans dead when thousands of spectators stormed the pitch at the Port Said stadium after a league game between Al-Masry and visiting Al-Ahly.
The donation “is a sign of solidarity with the families of the victims, and it also highlights the role the national team should play in supporting the fans who sacrificed their lives for the sake of football,” added Adly.
A training camp was initially due to be held in Cairo but was called off for security reasons.
Egypt are scheduled to play Kenya today, Niger on Wednesday (February 29) and Congo on March 2 on neutral ground in Qatar, a clever public relations coup for the oil-rich Middle East state that is staging the 2022 World Cup and is bidding for the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.
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