Egypt long list 73 players for London 2012 Olympics

Mohamed Aboutrika_in_action

By David Gold

April 14 – Egypt have named 73 players in a provisional list for their men’s football squad ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games.

Included in the list is Mohamed Aboutrika (pictured above), the Al Ahly player who retired briefly from football following the Port Said tragedy in February when a number of the team’s supporters were killed by rival Al Masry fans following a Premier League game.

Also included is Essam El Hadary, the goalkeeper at the root of the dispute between Swiss team Sion, FIFA and UEFA last year.

Sion took the governing bodies to Swiss civil courts in a dogged battle against a transfer ban imposed on the signing of El Hadary in 2008.

The long length of coach Hany Ramzy’s squad list is a result of the scheduling of 14 friendly fixtures before the Olympic Games begin.

His team have friendlies with Mexico and Uruguay, who have both qualified for London 2012, lined up during a tour of central and South America this month.

They will also face Costa Rica and Panama during the tour and will take part in tournaments in France in May and in Saudi Arabia in June.

Egypt also plan to play Italy, Brazil and Switzerland before the Games begin.

London 2012 is the first Olympic tournament Egypt have qualified for since the Olympics in Barcelona 20 years ago, having twice previously reached the semi-finals of the competition in 1928 and 1964.

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