Nile Basin football tournament final switched to Ismailia

Hatem Maher, Wednesday 12 Jan 2011

Ismailia replaces Cairo as host of the final and third-place playoff of the Nile Basin friendly tournament

Ismailia fans
The fans of Ismailia are known for their enthusiastic cheers

The final of the Nile Basin friendly tournament will be played in Ismailia instead of Cairo, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced Wednesday.

The third-place playoff will also be held in the coastal governorate, the EFA said in a statement on its website.

“The stadium of Ismailia is suitable to host those two games on Monday. Holding the third-round matches there also proved a success.”

All the matches of the seven-team tournament were initially scheduled to take place in Cairo, but the organising committee altered its plans, "to give Ismailia residents the chance to watch the national team in action."

Egypt crushed Burundi 3-0 in their last Group A match to maintain their clean slate before Ismailia’s enthusiastic crowd, who held aloft banners cheering their favorite players.

The Pharaohs will face Group B runners-up Kenya in the semi final Friday night. In the earlier kick-off, the Democratic Republic of Congo take on Uganda in the other last-four match.

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