UAE FA slam advertising agency for postponing Egypt friendly

FA statement says Presentation Sports announcement that November 20 match in Abu Dhabi was cancelled was without consultation

Egypt were due to face the UAE in an international friendly at Al Nahyan Stadium in Abu Dhabi on November 20. Reuters

The Football Association has reacted angrily to the postponement of next week’s friendly against Egypt, expressing “strong indignation” regarding the Egyptian Football Association’s advertising agency’s “lack of professionalism”.

The Egypt FA announced late on Saturday that the match, set for Abu Dhabi's Al Nahyan Stadium on November 20, had been postponed until March, much to the surprise of their UAE counterparts.

The friendly, confirmed last month, was supposed to mark the conclusion of the UAE's current training camp as they ramp up preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup, which takes place on home soil from January 5 to February 1.

In a strongly worded statement on Tuesday, the FA said they received official word from Presentation Sports, the agency that handles the Egypt national team, only on Monday, adding: “Based on this, UAE FA express strong indignation over Presentation Sports’ lack of professionalism, particularly following the mutual match agreement and posting of the scheduled match on the Fifa website as well as on the Egyptian FA social media on October 23.

“Therefore, UAE FA decided to cut ties with Presentation Sports company in the future and is surprised how the Egyptian FA directors’ statements about the cancellation or the adjourning of the match circulated on various social media prior to officially consulting UAE FA.”

The FA are in talks to organise a replacement friendly for next Monday. The national team, at present undergoing a two-week training camp in Dubai, take on Bolivia at the Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium on Friday.

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