Looney Tunes back in action: only in Egypt!!

Starring:
– Samir Zaher, representing the Egyptian football association
- Hassan Hamdy, representing Al Ahly club
-Medhat Shalaby, representing private TV channels

Co-starring: Zamalek club, radio and TV union

plot: last Saturday Egyptian football fans were supposed to be watching Cairo derby between Al Ahly and Zamalek but a conflict over broadcasting rights between Al Ahly and the EFA who in turn are committed to contracts with private channels lead the game to be postponed to….no date was set!!! Why, find out!!!

Scene 1

It is august, the season is a bout to start Al Ahly club is starting a channel for itself and they are warning that their home matches won’t be broadcasted on any of the private satellite channels and that they will drop out of the contract signed between league clubs and the EFA which give the EFA the rights to market the broadcasting rights clubs’ matches.

Scene 2

A heated debate is ongoing between Al Ahly on one side and the EFA, private channels and the TV union on the other side.

Satellite channels argued that they paid for these matches and that they will demand their money through the penal clause in the contract between them and the EFA. What they didn’t know is that the contract between EFA and clubs allow the clubs to withdraw the contract and giving their share of money remaining in the contract.

The position of Satellite channels headed by Medhat Shalaby from modern sport was weak so they started arguing that this is monopoly practice and that matches won’t be available for ordinary viewers who can’t afford subscriptions – knowing that Al Ahly’s channel is available free- and launched a massive propaganda campaign against Al Ahly and its channel.

Al Ahly replied that matches will be available on Egyptian TV as well as Egyptian satellite channel (ESC 1) and that they will be available for everyone.

Scene 3

It is Al Ahly’s first home game and all satellite channels are preparing to receive signals to broadcast the game but to their surprised cameras weren’t even allowed into the stadium; only one channel, Al Hayat, was able to sneak a handy cam inside and broadcasted a replay of the match.

Now the problem is serious and the pressure on Al Ahly is high so negotiations took place between EFA, clubs and television union to raise the price of broadcasting games paid to clubs every game to reach half a million pound for Ahly and zamalek and LE 250 thousand for other clubs.

Al Ahly is still stubborn on its position and refused to show its games although it tried to buy the rights of broadcasting for its own channel but they failed; then came the champions league and national team matches and the problem was forgotten for now.

Scene 4

It is the Egyptian people assembly; a special session was organized to discuss the problem of broadcasting Ahly’s matches!!!. MPs agreed that it is the citizens’ right to watch matches and that monopoly is refused.

Scene 5

It is elections time at the EFA and Samir Zaher, the current president is running a good campaign; his opponents on the other side are urging for change and were using the broadcasting rights’ problem as a pressure card on Zaher as an example of his bad management.

Zaher on the other side is begging clubs for their votes and didn’t want problems like this to erupt again and knew that if he angers Al Ahly he can lose a lot of voices and if he angers satellite channels he will lose revenues that he claim to be one of his biggest achievements during his reign.

Scene 6

Cairo derby is on Saturday and the game is Ahly’s and won’t be broadcasted on private channels that will lose advertising money, so what should Zaher do…………THE GAME IS POSTPONED TO AN UNSPECIFIED DATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, what the f***?

Scene 7

Zamalek club is demanding its rights like their Cairo rival and warning that they won’t broadcast their games’ either!!!!

Scene 8

Complete chaos

Tell me one country on this earth where these kinds of problems occur with this intensity? And even If there is, how can this lead to canceling the actual game?………. No you can’t because IT IS ONLY IN EGYPT!!

(photo edited by Rafeek Joseph Beshay)