CAIRO, Mar 27 (Aswat Masriya) – The Supreme Administrative Court ordered the dissolution of the state body governing football, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) in a final decision on Sunday.

The court deemed the EFA elections as flawed, with results that do not show the correct legal representation of the general assembly members who voted.

The elections were held in October 2012 but two people filed a suit claiming that the elections were invalid, suspecting forgery. In January 2013, a court rejected the suit but the claimants appealed. Their appeal was accepted today. Elections to choose a new board were scheduled for September.

The Supreme Administrative Court also ruled to dissolve the board of one of the most popular sports clubs, Al Ahly, whose football team has a very large fan base nationwide. This decision is also not subject to appeal.  

Although the most dominant sport in Egypt, football has had a few bumpy years after violence surrounding two football games left dozens of young men and fans dead, and games are currently being played without spectators.

In February 2012, a football stadium turned into a crime scene when over 70 people were killed in the Egyptian city of Port Said, where Al Ahly faced off a local club in a tense game. After the referee blew the final whistle, sports shows that typically discuss team performance, tactics and possession were instead dominated with talk on the rising number of deaths.

Two years later, 19 football fans were killed outside a Cairo stadium ahead of a football game between the widely popular Zamalek team and Enppi.

For many young Egyptian football fans, the game has become embroiled in the turbulent politics of the country, and the ultras groups of both Ahly and Zamalek have frequently raised demands for justice for the slain fans in their gatherings and chants.