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Caf ready to support Egypt with missing Afcon trophy
The football governing body of the North African nation has lost previous silverware won at the continental tournament
The Confederation of African Football has released a statement that it is ready to support Egypt in their quest to find an Africa Cup of Nations trophy which has gone missing.
It was revealed by former Egyptian FA vice-president Ahmed Shobeir that the trophy which the Pharaohs won three times in a row in 2006, 2008 and 2010 was lost in a fire incident at the association’s headquarters in Cairo in 2013. This discovery was made after the FA had plans to build a museum that would house trophies won by the North African powerhouse.
"Officials of the committee which meets every five years and currently manages the Football Association were surprised that the trophy was not available, in light of their desire to create a museum at the federation headquarters, which would feature the trophy and the national team's kits," Shobeir said on the 'On Time Sports' TV show.
"However, [they] were surprised to find that the Afcon trophy was lost, and decided to open an investigation."
Caf - which is also headquartered in the city of Cairo, in a solidarity move, have offered their support to help Egypt find the missing piece of silverware.
“Caf has learnt with shock, reports of missing Afcon trophies from the Egyptian Football Association secretariat. Our doors are open and the @EFA can count on our support in the search for the priceless memorabilia,” read a statement on the Caf Twitter handle.
Egypt are the most successful team in the history of Afcon with seven titles, two better than the next successful team Cameroon who have five titles.
The Pharaohs first won it in 1957 followed by the 1959 edition on home soil. It had to take them 27 years before they landed a third continental title, this time on home soil again in 1986. Egypt would be triumphant again in 1998, seeing off South Africa in Burkina Faso before they dominated it three times in a row in 2006, 2008, 2010. The 2006 edition was the third time they would win it on their turf, the only team to achieve such in Afcon history.
Egypt were hosts for the fourth time in 2019 but they crashed out at the round of 16 stage to Bafana Bafana while Algeria went on to claim ultimate glory in the final by dispatching Senegal.
