Mahmoud Taher, the former president of Al Ahly Club's board of directors, spoke about many files, including his endorsement of Mahmoud El-Khatib, the current club president, in the previous Red elections.
Taher explained that the area he obtained in October to establish the new stadium does not allow for the provision of other service areas, which represents a prediction of the failure of the current Red project.
Al Ahly Stadium Project
Mahmoud Taher said in statements to the Emirati Al Sharq podcast: "It was my dream to build Al Ahly Stadium, and we actually started working on the project, and we made great progress in it, and we were negotiating about the land in the 6th of October City, which I still see as suitable for establishing Al Ahly Stadium."
He added: "We had prepared the designs, and a German company undertook the preparation of studies, engineering drawings, preliminary studies, in addition to the economic feasibility study, and the project was to be self-funded without the need for any direct financing, relying on sponsors' revenues."
Regarding the current stadium site, he said: "I see that the land on which the project is currently being built is not suitable, and I do not know to what stage the implementation has reached, but according to the calculations and studies, the area is not sufficient to establish a stadium befitting Al Ahly Club and the ambitions of its fans."
He continued: "The stadium should not be limited to the field only, but it should also include a museum for the club, training fields, a youth sector, and service facilities, and during discussions that lasted two or three months with the German company, they confirmed that the project needs an area of no less than 85 feddans, while the area available to us in the 6th of October was only about 40 feddans."
He explained: "Parking lots alone need no less than 15 feddans, leaving only about 30 feddans, which is an area sufficient only for building a field without any of the facilities we mentioned, such as the museum or youth sector facilities or training fields."
Avoiding visiting Al Ahly headquarters
Regarding his distancing from Al Ahly Club, he said: "I have several reasons.. The first is that immediately after the elections, my appearance at the club would stir up some problems and sensitivities, so I preferred to spare myself and others those atmospheres."
He continued: "The second reason relates to my work and travel circumstances, which no longer allow me to frequent the club, as for the third reason, most of my friends and the group I used to spend time with at the club have also stopped going, and each of them had their own reasons, so everyone started frequenting another club according to their place of residence or circumstances, then the Corona pandemic came to make matters more difficult."
He went on: "In general, I have not been to the club for about nine years, except for my attendance at the previous elections, and at that time I gave my vote to Mahmoud El-Khatib's list in full, because there was no competing list in front of it."
Returning to public work
Regarding the possibility of running in Al Ahly elections again, he said: "So far, the idea has not seriously occurred to me, and perhaps I will consider the matter if the circumstances we talked about change, but then it will also be difficult."
Mahmoud Taher concluded his statements by saying: "I feel that I want to offer something broader than working inside Al Ahly, and not through a governmental position, but through a sports system such as the Football Association or the Olympic Committee, which allows me to contribute my ideas and experiences with those in charge of managing sports."
