The Egypt Cup, the country’s second most important competition, resumes on Tuesday when Egyptian Premier League champions Ahly take on second division side Kima Aswan in the round of 32 teams.

The unrest caused by the revolution forced the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) to suspend all football activities for a period, and had threatened to prevent this year’s Egypt Cup from being held.

The EFA decided in May to resume the Cup tournament after the ministry of the interior, which virtually collapsed on January 28, was able to regain control over hooliganism.

Ahly is resting seven stars to test new players

The Red Devils will be coached by their Portuguese manager Manuel Jose, who has been absent recently due to health problems.

“Coach Jose has recovered but he preferred to rest on Monday,” Ahly’s football director Sayed Abdel-Hafiz was quoted as saying on the club’s official website.

Assistant coach Pedro announced the seven absentees from the Red Devils: strikers Emad Meteb and Mohamed ‘Geddo’ Nagy, defender Wael Gomaa, wingers Sayed Moawad and Ahmed Fathy, midfielder Eno and keeper Ahmed Adel Abdel-Menem.

Ahly’s new signings, Mohamed Naguib, Ahmed Shedid Qinawi, Walid Soliman and El-Said Hamdy, will have trials today.

Jose also will be watching keeper Sherif Ekramy and Algerian striker Amir Sayoud who are eagerly hoping to book their place in the starting eleven.

Their opponents, Kima Aswan, include good players like Mohamed Abdullah, Hussein Malek, Mahmud Nasser, Haitham Abdel-Karim and Mahmoud Abdel-Basset, and announced that they are playing to win and ready to turn heads.

“We don’t fear Ahly’s history and we will get the upper hand on the field,” the Aswan-based club coach Ramadan Abdel-Fattah told Ahram Online.

Ahly holds 33 cup trophies, making it the most successful club in the competition. Haras El-Hodoud, under the eyes of coach Tarek El-Ashry, won the last two successive matches.