The Sudanese President Omer al Bashir Tuesday said he hopes the playoff between Egyptian and Algerian soccer teams would bring closer the peoples of the two countries.
Al Bashir received Tuesday in Khartoum the Egyptian and Algerian officials in charge of sports, and he expressed pleasure over Sudan's hosting of this great sport event, which will lead the winner to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
The Sudanese Minister of Youth and Sports Mohamed Yoursif Abdalla quoted al Bashir as saying that "We would like to avail this opportunity to
show that sports should unite peoples, not separate them."On Wednesday, the Egyptian and Algerian teams will compete for the fifth and final African spot at the 2010 World Cup finals in el Meereikh Stadium in Omdurman, after Egypt grasped the last chance Saturday in Cairo to keep itself alive for a playoff through a 2:0 victory.