Ittihad of Alexandria to build new team despite relegation

The Egyptian Premier League champions, Ahly have received another letter from Ittihad asking them to move striker Mohamed Talat, midfielder Ahmed Shokry and winger Abdullah Abdel-Azim after they previously demanded the services of attacker Mustafa “Afroto” Selim and central midfielder Shehab El-Dein Mohammed. “Ahly’s officials asked us to negotiate with the players to check if they want to move to Alexandria or have other plans,” Ittihad representative Mohamed Mansour told Ahram Online. The coastal club, founded in 1906, also made a single season loan proposal for Zamalek right winger Hazem Emam for LE400,000. “We will meet with coach Hassan Shehata to consult him about Emam’s exit,” Zamalek board member Abdullah George said. “We are interested in Zamalek playmaker Alaa Ali too but we haven’t met with the player yet,” Mansour revealed. The six-time Egyptian Cup winners who bottomed the League table seem certain that the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) would cancel relegation system during a meeting Monday. “The EFA under the presidency of Samir Zaher will meet Monday 25 July to end all the open cases that concern the public opinion,” read a statement on the EFA official site. “We have been promised by all clubs that they will agree on cancelling relegation system this season,” Mansour insists. “The EFA board will decide what’s useful for the Egyptian football future,” EFA spokesman, Azmy Megahed confirmed. Both fellow Alexandria-based club Smouha and Arab Contractors, who will leave the top flight, protested against the relegation system, asserting that the clubs have been set back by football’s stoppage after the January 25 Revolution that ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. Tunisia, who witnessed similar circumstances, decided last month to cancel their relegation system.ahramonline.