For Algeria fans, Egypt at any price

2009-10-30

With chants of "viva l’Algérie" filling the streets and the country awash in green, Les Fennecs supporters see the World Cup within their grasp. They are willing to do anything to get to Cairo.

By Fidet Mansour for Magharebia in Algiers - 20/10/09

[FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images] Thousands of Algeria fans inspired fear among the Pharoahs last June in Blida; far fewer will be allowed to see the Cairo qualifier.

Algerian football fans are determined to make their way to Cairo to watch their national team play the World Cup qualifier against Egypt on November 14th, regardless of how they get there or what they must pay.

Amine, 22, is unemployed and has no income, but with football in his veins and an all-consuming passion for the Fennecs, he'll do whatever he can to finance a trip to the land of the Pharoahs. “I don’t have any money, but I’ll get to Cairo," he tells us.

"I’ve got a mobile phone worth 20,000 DA. I’ve got a new jacket which I’ll sell for 2,500. And a friend is going to lend me the rest." Magharebia asks him how he intends to pay back the loan: "Just so long as we win in Egypt, I’m not worried about the rest," Amine says.

Time will hang heavy until Game Day next month. "I’d like to be able to go to sleep and wake up in Cairo, in a winners’ procession. Tell your readers to pray to God for our team."

Fan dedication is boundless. "If I had to choose between getting my bac or seeing the national side qualify for the World Cup, I’d choose qualification, without a doubt," says 17-year-old Akram. "I can sit the bac again next year. But please don’t tell my parents," he adds, tongue-in-cheek.

"My parents won’t allow me to go to Cairo," the devoted Greens' fan explains. As a minor, Akram needs permission to leave the country. "But believe me, they will not force me to go to school on the day of the match," Akram tells us with conviction.

Another enthusiastic supporter of the national side is travelling from Algiers to Egypt on foot.

Earlier this week, Mohamed Fateh left his home in Boufarik, 60 km from Algiers, to begin his heroic journey to Cairo. This is not the first time for him to undertake such an unusual trip. Last year, he travelled Algeria by foot as part of an anti-drug campaign. In 2006, the young man walked to Tunis to express his support for the Palestinian people.

Competition is tight for the few available tickets, despite the 3500-dinar price tag. Egypt limited the number of seats for Algerian visitors to 2500. (Algerian students in Egypt are not part of the 2500-ticket limit. They were reportedly told to buy their seats from ticket offices, just like Egyptian fans).

[FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images] Limited ticket availability and costly travel will keep most Algeria fans from attending the Egypt match on November 14th.

Complicating matters further, the Egyptian Football Federation (EFA) decided last week to make tickets available a mere 48 to 72 hours before the match. By releasing the tickets so close to game time, Egyptian officials hope to prevent the sale of tickets on the black market.

Since the quantity of match tickets allocated to Algerians is limited, many fans are counting on help from Egyptian acquaintances.

"I’m not too worried about whether I’ll get a ticket: an Egyptian friend is taking care of everything," says Aymen, 38, a teacher of Arabic literature who lived in Egypt for four years.

Aymen plans to take the day off on November 14th. His students, needless to say, are delighted.

Algerian authorities are encouraging fans to travel by air in order to avoid potential problems arriving by car at the Libyan and Tunisian borders. Air Algérie has reserved 8 aircraft, each with a capacity of 250 passengers. The national carrier is offering a reduced ticket rate of 50,000 dinars.

One thousand seats have already been sold.

Aware of the interest among Algerian football devotees, travel agencies are promoting special discounts. Agence Sunshine Algérie, for example, is offering a package deal for "women and families to join the national side in Cairo, from just 59,200 DA". Other agencies are charging 30,000 Algerian dinars for the bus trip to Cairo and entry to the stadium. Some fans are even considering auto hires, despite the round-trip cost of about 100,000 dinars.

Businesses have also joined in the excitement, running quizzes to win a coveted journey to Egypt. "Call 420, and perhaps you will be going to Cairo with Karim Ziani," mobile telephone company Djezzy teased subscribers via SMS. Algerian newspaper Ennahar will draw for 10 trips to Cairo and match tickets, while Samsung is giving away 30 trips.

In Algerian streets, the excitement is contagious.

Sihem, 23, has never watched a football match, but the national side’s progress turned her into "the Fennecs’#1 supporter".

"I watch all the sporting discussions on the television and buy all the newspapers to get the latest information on our players," she tells Magharebia.

Buildings and shops are decorated with the national colours. Stores cannot keep up with demand for posters of popular players and team jerseys. Everyone is geared up for the event.

[KHALED DESOUKI/AFP/Getty Images] Algeria players are reportedly unfazed by the 100,000 Pharaohs' fans expected at the Cairo stadium.

On the media side, meanwhile, things seem to be settling down after weeks of sniping and squabbling by both the Algerian and Egyptian press.

Algerian Communications Secretary Azzedine Mihoubi called sports journalists together for a meeting on Friday (October 16th). The reporters were told how to ease tension and avoid disputes in the run-up to the match.

Football fans were equally cautioned against any potential misbehaviour.

"Our supporters must be calm and disciplined in Cairo to give a good impression of our country. Even if they’re provoked, they must demonstrate their self-discipline," Algerian Football Federation (FAF) chief Mohamed Raouraoua said on October 19th.

Popular Algerian newspaper Echorouk signed a peace pact with an Egyptian publication, while Abu Dhabi sport channels launched campaigns to put an end to the diatribes.

Egyptians also seem to be extending an olive branch to their Algerian adversaries.

Laila Taha Kacem, of the Arab Union of Banks, Commerce and Insurances, told Echorouk that everyone in Egypt will welcome the Algerian fans. "My daughter, who is fan of football, told me she will be a fan of the Algerian team if they beat the Egyptians," Kacem said.

Another Egyptian, Mohamed Ouahb Allah Amhamed, agreed that Egyptians would back whichever team wins the match. "Their slogan is: the winner is Arab."

Still, some continue to question what thousands of roaring Pharaohs' fans – and fewer than 3000 supporters of the Greens - will mean for Algeria once they are on the pitch at the capital city's Olympic Stadium.

"In Cairo, your public won't be there, but 80,000 Egypt fans await you," France Football pointed out to Algerian international and Sienna forward Abdelkader Ghezzal in an October 28th interview. The 25-year old replied that he is unworried, even if 100,000 Egyptians turn out to support the Pharaohs.

"Our motivation does not come from money but from the extraordinary enthusiasm of our audience," Ghezzal told the French reporter. "It is fabulous."

As midfielder Karim Matmour told Echorouk the same day, "We will face eleven players, not 80,000 supporters."