Egypt's Minister of Youth and Sports Khaled Abdel-Aziz (Photo: Al-Ahram Weekly)
Egypt's sports minister Khaled Abdel-Aziz has said that he would hold a meeting next week with newly appointed interior minister Magdy Abdel-Ghafar to discuss the return of an Egyptian Premier League currently on hold.
"I will meet with the interior minister on Monday to decide the domestic league's fate," Abdel-Aziz told reporters on Tuesday, following the inauguration of a sports' hall at the Ahly club.
"We are keen that the competition resume because it will reflect the country's determination to move forward despite all difficulties,'' he added.
Domestic competitions have been on hold since 8 February, when 20 Zamalek supporters were killed after police forces used teargas to disperse a crowd of fans attempting to enter the Air Defence Stadium ahead of a league match with ENPPI.
After discussions between Egypt's cabinet and the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), they decided to form a committee of representatives of the interior and sports ministries to instigate the necessary procedures to resume competitions after 40 days of mourning.
Earlier this month, the EFA announced that domestic league games would resume on 22 March, but doubts were raised, after interior ministry spokesperson Hany Abdel-Latif on Monday said that the league's fate still remained 'unclear'.
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