Petrol Asyut matches moved to Borg El Arab Stadium over venue concerns

Petrol Asyut will play all of their matches in the first phase of the Egyptian Premier League and the group stage of the Egypt Capital Cup at Borg El Arab Stadium after Asyut Cement Stadium was deemed not ready to host the fixtures.

The Egyptian Professional Clubs Association has sent an official letter to the clubs involved in the competitions confirming the change.

All of Petrol Asyut’s scheduled matches in the first stage of the league and the group phase of the Egypt Capital Cup will be played at Borg El Arab Stadium instead of Asyut Cement Stadium. The fixtures will remain on the dates and at the kick-off times previously announced.

FilGoal.com understands that the move was made because Asyut Cement Stadium did not meet the required conditions for staging Petrol Asyut’s league matches.

The Egyptian Premier League is due to begin on 21 August, with the first phase scheduled to finish on 20 February.

The competition will be played in two stages. The opening phase will take place in a single round-robin format, with the 20 participating teams playing a total of 19 rounds.

After that stage, the league will split into two groups. The six highest-ranked teams will compete in the final phase to determine the champions, while the teams finishing from seventh to 20th will enter the group competing to avoid relegation.

Each club will carry forward the same number of points it earned in the first phase. The final-phase standings will be determined separately within each group, and the matches in that phase will also be played in a single round-robin format.

If two or more clubs finish level on points, their positions in the table will be decided in accordance with Article 15 of the competition regulations.

The four teams finishing at the bottom of the second group in the final phase will be relegated to the lower division, the Professional League.

The decision means Petrol Asyut’s home fixtures will temporarily be staged away from their usual venue, although the calendar itself will not change. The club’s matches covered by the decision include those in both the opening stage of the Egyptian Premier League and the group stage of the Egypt Capital Cup.

The relocation was announced before the start of the league campaign, with the association informing the participating clubs through its formal correspondence. Borg El Arab Stadium will therefore serve as the venue for Petrol Asyut’s relevant matches under the existing schedule.