Egypt’s interior ministry ends 6-month football fan ban

The Egyptian interior ministry has ended a six-month football fan ban and will allow limited fan attendance in specific matches, the Egyptian daily al-Ahram reported on Friday,

The move “marks the first step” to remove a crowd ban that has been in place since February’s Port Said disaster, in which more than 70 fans were killed after a riot erupted during a match.

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has been given the green light to hold the next month’s Super Cup with minimal fan attendance, the newspaper reported.

The first match in the season will be played in September between Egypt’s Ahly 2011 Premier League winners and ENPPI.

Last season’s Premier League was called off altogether following the Port Said tragedy.

A total of 74 people were killed after a riot erupted during an Egyptian League football match.

The fans cornered supporters on the field in the port city of Port Said and around the stadium, throwing stones and bottles at them, which led to a stampede that killed fans.

The crush followed a pitch invasion when Port Said-based al-Masry beat Cairo’s Ahly on Feb. 2.

Hardcore supporters of Ahly and Cairo giant Zamalek have relentlessly pressured the EFA into allowing them to attend matches.

“Their efforts bore fruit following the appointment of El-Amry Farouq as the new sports minister,” al-Ahram said.