Cairo International Stadium

Callum:  Hello, I'm Callum Robertson and this is entertainment. On Friday 20  Januarythe 2006 African Cup of Nations football tournament kicked off at the CairoInternational Stadium in Egypt.
　　Two days before I was lucky enough to take a guided tour behind the scenes tosome places the public don't normally 1 get to see. This programme is therecording that I made at the stadium. There are comprehension questions on thewebsite and a quiz so you can check your understanding.
　　The tour started off at the office of one of the stadium chiefs before our guidetook us around the stadium. Here's my report.
　　Callum:  Now to start off we're in the company of a very important man, a VIP. First canyou tell us, what's your name?
　　Ahmed:  My name is Ahmed Adbulkhaliq.
　　Callum:  And what is your position, what's your job?
　　Ahmed:  I'm responsible for following up and planning for the Cairo Stadiuum andgeneral manager of the main office.
　　Callum:  This is a very very nice stadium, when was it built?
　　Ahmed:  It was built in 1960Callum:  How many people can attend an event in the football stadium, what's thecapacity of the stadium?
　　Ahmed:  72,668, exactlyCallum:  If I can ask you to predict the future. What teams do you think will be playingin the final. Do you think Egypt will be in the final?
　　Ahmed:  Only God knows, but I hope Egypt.
　　Callum:  And what other teams do you think are favourites for the tournament?
　　Ahmed:  Cote D'Ivoire, big team, Cameroon, Ghana and EgyptCallum:  How do you feel because this is your stadium and Africa Cup of Nations is inyour stadium in your city, how does that make you feel? Is it a very responsibleposition for you?
　　Ahmed:  I'm very happy because of improvements 3 we have made here in the stadium.
　　Callum:  You must be very proudAhmed:  Sure, very very proud.
　　Callum:  Well we start our tour at a very special place. We are at the Royal Box, or whatwe would call the royal box in England. It's the place where very specialcelebrities and politicians sit when they are watching the game. And justbehind me now you can hear the noise as they are still completing it, is thepresidential box, as the president of Egypt, President Mohamed Hosni Mubarakwill be sitting just behind where I'm standing 2 to watch the opening game onFriday.
　　Now it's a great position to watch the game from because from this positionyou can see the whole pitch. We're directly in line with the half-way line andstanding across from a replica 4 of the Sphinx, one of the famous monumentswhich is also here in Egypt, though this is just a replica, it's not the real thing.
　　But this is a great viewpoint 5. You can see the whole pitch, the whole crowdand it's really going to be a fantastic experience to be here on Friday when thegame kicks off.
　　Callum:  Well our tour has now taken us to the changing rooms and this is where theplayers will be getting ready before the game, before they step out onto thepitch and play for the honour of their country. And this is also where they'llhave their team talk. There's a whiteboard on the wall which has a footballpitch drawn 6 on it and that's where their manger or coach will go over the tacticsof the game. And it's a kind of a room as you might expect, there's a long rowof individual benches where each player can hang their kit 7 when they getchanged and there's a massage 8 table and showers and facilities as you couldexpect but what you probably can't imagine is the tension 9 that will be in thisroom before a game, the nerves 10 that the players will be feeling, before theyopen the door and step out onto the pitch. Come with us now as we take thatstep because here we go, we're going on to the pitch…Callum:  So as you walk from the changing rooms, underneath 11 the stands and out, thepitch opens up in front of you and you step out from underneath the stands andthere are maybe 75,000 people cheering and screaming at you. What anexperience it must be for all these players when they step out and I can'timagine what they'll be feeling, their nerves and excitement – and as and westep onto the pitch, as I'm doing now,wow, I'm standing on the pitch wherethey'll be playing the first match and the final of the 2006 Africa Cup ofNations and it looks like quite a small pitch, I have to say but nevertheless I'msure the players who will be playing on it will think it's quite big  enough.
　　Now as we approach, here we are standing at the centre circle where the firstgame and last game will kick off.
　　Before we finish our tour I have to say a very big 'shukran' a very big thankyou to the man who gave us our tour – and your name?
　　Abdul:  Abdul Atif MuktarCallum:  Thank you very much for your tour.
　　Abdul:  Thank you and welcome to Egypt!
　　Callum:  And do you think Egypt can win the Cup of Nations?
　　Abdul:  Sure!
　　(Laughter)Callum:  Thank you!