CAIRO (Agencies)
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Cairo on Sunday night for celebrations after their national team won a record-breaking sixth African Nations Cup.
Crowds of people wearing the national flag colors of red, black and white erupted with screams of joy as the final whistle blew, some lighting handheld fireworks, others crying tears of relief.
Thousands of people gathered to watch the match between Cairo and Cameroon on giant television screens on the central Midan Mustafa Mahmud square.
Egypt retained their African Nations Cup crown when Mohamed Aboutraika scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over Cameroon which also delivered a record sixth title.
The defending champions ensured they held on to the trophy when,
after a slick passing movement, Aboutraika struck in the 77th minute
for a deserved success.
Policemen forming part of the heavy security presence on the huge square danced and hugged their countrymen, crying the name of the goal-scorer, local Giza native "Mohamed Aboutraika -- Goal!"
Any traffic remaining on avenues leading off the main square was locked down by the mass festivities, including carloads of teenagers, some jammed 10 to a vehicle, others lying on the bonnet or roof, proudly waving the Egyptian flag.
"It's one of the rare occasions when there are no Muslims and Copts and we are only Egyptians," said Coptic Christian Adel Zaki. "We feel united and it is the only thing we celebrate together."
As the growing crowd brought traffic in neighboring areas to a standstill, police tried to erect barriers but the crowd pushed them to aside.
Ambulances on standby sounded their horns in support of the victory, a repeat of Egypt's 2006 win when the championship was played in Cairo.
The city of 16 million had been gearing up for the match all day. Morning traffic had more than its usual share of horn blowing, the streets having filled steadily with Egyptian flags as the team progressed through the championship.
Flags that sold for 10 Egyptian pounds (about two dollars) in the morning were going for three times that among the belly dancers and drummers of Midan Mustafa Mahmud on Sunday night. |
