Egypt’s Public Prosecution said on Wednesday it would investigate the disappearance of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy from the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association (EFA).
Chief prosecutor Hamada al-Sawi ordered the incident to be referred to the Public Funds Prosecution for a judicial investigation.
He said Egypt’s Ministry of Youth and Sports had asked the prosecution to launch a probe after EFA officials gave conflicting accounts about the reason for the loss of the trophy.
The trophy was awarded to the Pharaohs, the country’s senior national football team, in 2010.
Egyptian media recently reported that the original trophy of the AFCON, which the Pharaohs won three consecutive times in 2006, 2008 and 2010, disappeared from EFA’s building in Cairo.
EFA had confirmed on Friday that it was investigating the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of trophies during a 2013 attack by the hardcore fans of Ultras.
During that attack, its headquarters was looted and set on fire.
The federation said the disappearance was discovered while it was preparing to display the trophies in a small museum being set up at the entrance of its headquarters.
It added that its board was “shocked’’ to find that a number of trophies were missing