Algeria and Egypt shut out media

Algeria and Egypt yesterday retreated behind closed doors on the eve of their Africa Cup semi-final in Benguela, seeking to avoid a revival of the hostility that marked their recent World Cup qualifying battle.

Both teams cancelled pre-match media activities and banned reporters from their final training sessions as they prepared for today's match.

"We want the players to concentrate solely on the work ahead of them," explained Algeria football federation president Mohamed Raouraoua.

Algeria and Egypt meet 70 days after a dramatic World Cup play-off match, which the Algerians won 1-0.

The game was played out in a highly-charged atmosphere and post-match violence between opposing fans came close to creating a major diplomatic incident.

Fighting between Algerian players and Egyptian officials more than 20 years ago, after Egypt had edged out their north African rivals for a place at the 1990 World Cup finals, is at the root of the continuing animosity between the two countries.

Egyptian authorities unsuccessfully sought to prosecute Algeria's top midfielder Lakhdar Belloumi, who allegedly damaged the eye of an Egyptian official with a broken bottle, in a case that simmered for years.

When the two countries were drawn in the same 2010 World Cup qualifying group, reconciliation attempts were made, including withdrawing an Interpol arrest warrant for Belloumi.

The winners of today's match progress to the final in Luanda on Sunday to play Ghana or Nigeria.

New dates

A change in dates for the Africa Cup is being considered from every even year to every odd year, said CAF president Issa Hayatou.

A change could come into effect in 2013 with the planned 2014 tournament brought forward 12 months.