The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) have decided to cancel the opening ceremony of the Nile basin friendly tournament, set to be hosted by Egypt, following the recent church attack by terrorists in Alexandria.

Tanzania, Sudan, Uganda and Kenya will compete against Egypt for the title of this newly-introduced competition that is set to take place from 5 to 17 January.

“The tournament official slogan will be (National Unity, No to Terrorism),” EFA president Samir Zaher announced in a press conference on Tuesday.

“We decided to cancel the opening ceremony as all the Egyptians are very sad following the terrorist attack,” added Zaher who asked the conference attendees to held a minute of silence for those who passed away in the attack.

The EFA have also decided that the Egyptian players will wear black arm bands in honor of the victims and that the supporters will held a minute of silence before the Pharaohs opening game in the tournament.

Sudan and Kenya will kick off the tournament while Egypt will take on Tanzania in their opening game on Wednesday.

“The tournament will be held annually whether in Egypt or in any of the other Nile basin countries. We consider it a good preparation for the national team before taking on south Africa in the 2012 CAN African qualifications,” Zaher concluded.