The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have expressed their shock after revelations concerning the loss of the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in Egypt.
The football body took the announcement to social media, confirming that they will be wiling to cooperate with the Egyptian Football Association to find the gold-plated trophy.
The Pharaohs received the trophy permanently after winning the 2010 edition of the tournament, claiming that particular incarnation of the trophy for a third time.
CAF regulations state that a team that wins a particular incarnation of the Africa Cup of Nations trophy three times will own it for good.
A statement released by the Egyptian Football Association confirmed reports that the trophy alongside other trophies had gone missing.
“As the Egyptian FA is currently developing the main headquarters, including changing the entrance to a small museum of Egyptian football, the management was shocked by the disappearance of some old trophies from the storeroom.”
In 2013, the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association were attacked by angry fans and various trophies were transferred into a storeroom.
However, local officials only searched for them recently after the decision to renovate the Association’s entrance so that Egypt’s multiple football cups could be displayed there.
The Association have also confirmed that investigations have already taken place as they try to solve the mystery of the loss of the most coveted trophy in African football.
“The Egyptian Football Association is now investigating the trophies’ disappearance to determine if those old trophies were saved after the building was burned … or if they were lost when the building was exposed during this incident,” the EFA added.
Ghana was the first team to win the trophy three times, in 1978, while Cameroon then received the second version of the Nations Cup trophy after becoming the first country to win it on three occasions.
Under CAF rules, teams that win the Nations Cup receive a replica of the trophy on a permanent basis while they are allowed to keep the trophy for the two years in-between tournaments before handing it back.
The current trophy, whose style is still the same as the one won by Egypt, is in the hands of Algeria, who won the last Nations Cup title (in Cairo) last year.