Egyptian soccer players display their trophy after defeating Ivory Coast in a penalty shoot out at the African Nations Cup final soccer match in Cairo, Egypt, February 10, 2006. Egypt won 4-2. (Reuters)
Egypt will not make a bid to host next year's African Cup of Nations if any fellow Arab country wanted to stage the biennial tournament, an Egyptian Football Association board member said on Tuesday.
Last Friday, Cameroon was stripped of the right to host the Nations Cup after serious delays with its preparations to host the expanded 24-team tournament.
African governing body CAF will this month receive other bids for the Nations Cup hosting rights, with Morocco and South Africa tipped as favourites to replace Cameroon.
"The Egyptian Football Association will not bid for hosting the Nations Cup if any of our brotherly Arab countries do so," EFA board member Ahmed Megahed told a news conference.
"But Egypt is ready to step in and help if there are any problems," he added without elaborating further.
Egypt hosted the tournament three times in 1974, 1986 and 2006. The national team won it a record seven times.
Morocco and South Africa staged the Nations Cup once in 1988 and 1996 respectively.
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
Short link: