Egypt Boosted As Ahly Secure Permission To Play Champions League Final In Cairo

Egypt have been boosted in their pursuit to host Ghana in Cairo with the decision to allow Al Ahly to play at the same venue before their home crowd in the CAF Champions League final. The Reds according to reports have been permitted to play the second leg of the Champions League final against Orlando Pirates at the Air Defence Stadium in Cairo � the same venue earmarked for the World Cup playoffs against Ghana. Concerns have been raised by the Ghana FA over the safety and security in Cairo following weeks of political and civil unrest. The Ghanaian federation have indeed written to FIFA seeking the removal of the November 19 clash from the planned venue over these safety concerns. The Egyptian FA have however been tasked by Monday to prove beyond reasonable doubts that their earmarked venue is safe to host the star-studded Black Stars team. Security authorities in Egypt will be announcing stringent arrangements towards hosting the Champions League final which will be played on November 10 � nine days before Egypt take on Ghana in the second leg of the playoffs. The Egyptian FA thus look to attach these stringent security arrangements in the report they will be lodging to FIFA to back their plea to have the Black Stars play before a packed crowd in Cairo. It is however unclear whether these arrangements will be enough to sway FIFA�s decision in their favour even though several reports in Egypt are claiming it to be a done deal. Ahly have played all their games in their Champions League campaign in the Red Sea resort of El-Gouna, some 430 km south of Cairo where most of the matches were played behind closed doors. They however want to make their home advantage in the second leg of the final against the South African giants count by allowing entry of their fans in the stadium in Cairo to help in their bid to extend their record of being seven times African champions.