Up to 74 people have died in Egypt after violence broke out in a league match between African giants, Al Ahly and lightweights, Al-Masry. For a country that has been at every Africa Cup of Nations since the competition was started in 1957, Egypt suffered a heavy blow when it failed to qualify for the current edition. Now as the tournament headed to the knock-out phase, the unprecedented seven-time champions are reeling after a second blow.
It is still too early to know fully what the violence at the Port Said stadium portends for Egyptian football though the political ramifications are already being felt. What has befallen Egypt is typical of the malaise affecting the game in Africa.African countries like going to sleep and failing to take basic precautions to avert disaster at soccer matches. They only wake up for the body count. A change of administration sometimes leads to a soccer lull in Africa with catastrophic consequences. Security measures that have worked before are not enforced and hooligans take advantage to cause havoc. That is what has happened in Egypt which is still reeling from the violent revolution that toppled long-time tyrant, Hosni Mubarak.
