40,000 Fans Will Be Able to Attend AFCON Match at Cairo Intl Stadium

With the bitter taste of losing the final of the African Nations Cup to Senegal earlier this year still in Egypt’s collective mouth, the road to redemption begins on June 5th, when the Egyptian national football team kick-off their qualifying campaign for the next edition of the continent's biggest football tournament, which will be held in Côte d'Ivoire in 2023.

The match will see Mohamed Salah captain the team against Guinea at Cairo International Stadium, where 40,000 fans will be allowed to attend - a rarity since fans were effectively banned from attending matches following the 2012 Port Said Stadium riot.

The Egyptian Football Association has obtained official authorisation from security officials to enable fans to attend, as they did in the third and final round of the World Cup qualifiers in March, when an estimated 70,000 fans descended on Cairo International Stadium.