Following the naming of Morocco as new host of the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) after Kenya was stripped of the right, Egypt were invited to participate at the tournament to fill the void from the North Africa zone.
However, the Egyptian football federation (EFA) announced on Tuesday they would not show up at the event due to its consequences on the domestic league. The CHAN tournament is exclusively reserved for home-based players.
“The reason for our withdrawal is that we cannot to interrupt the local league which will be running by the time CHAN will kick off,” EFA executive director Tharwat Sweilam said in a communiqué.
The Pharaohs are yet to participate in the competition which debuted in 2009 in Ivory Coast. Algeria, who were eliminated in the qualifiers, could be handed a late invitation with two months to the tournament, according to unconfirmed reports.
Original host Kenya were disqualified from organizing the tournament due to political instability in the East African nation.
