Egypt will look to win its first competitive match since October last year as it plays Ethiopia in a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier in Casablanca on Friday.
After four rounds, Egypt is leading Group A with 10 points, holding a four-point advantage over Guinea-Bissau and a five-point lead over Burkina Faso in third.
Sierra Leone is fourth in the group with five points, while Ethiopia is fifth with three points. Djibouti occupies the bottom spot with just one point.
However, Ethiopia will not play the home fixture in a stadium in its own country. Instead, it will play its qualifiers in Morocco.
What is Ethiopia’s home stadium?
Ethiopia has previously played in Addis Ababa Stadium, Bahir Dar Stadium and Dire Dawa Stadium, its home base is expected to be the Addis Ababa National Stadium.
For the 2026 World Cup qualifiers though, Ethiopia will not play on home soil.
Why is Ethiopia not playing its home game in its own country?
Since 2021, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) banned 17 of 53 teams – in action in the World Cup qualifiers – from using their home venues. It said that the venues did not meet “minimum requirements”.
Some of the reasons given by CAF for the stripping of stadium accreditations included substandard fields, “poor and inadequate” dugout areas for team officials and the lack of fixed seating for fans. CAF informed the countries of the stadium bans on Sunday.
As a result, Ethiopia is playing its qualifying games (home) at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, Morocco.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com