By Amr Shaheen BBC Sport, Cairo

Dr Alie El Din Hilal has accepted the resignations

The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) board has resigned following the national team's failure at the 2004 Cup of Nations.

EFA president, General Dahshoury Harb, and eight other members have handed in their resignations to the Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr Alie El Din Hilal.

Their move follows the earlier resignations of four other members including 1990 World Cup goalkeeper, Ahmed Shoubeir.

We can quit now after our [financial] reputation has been cleared Former EFA president General Dahshoury Harb

The board stepped down after a harsh media campaign criticizing their leadership of the game in Egypt over the last three years.

Their two biggest failures were Egypt's failure to get past the group stages at the Cup of Nations finals in Tunisia, the first time in 12 years, and the Under-23 team being knocked out of the 2004 Olympic qualifiers.

The Olympic side is yet to earn a point in their group matches.

One positive thing for the resigning members was that a commission of investigators appointed by the government to look into the association's accounts found no problems with the board's finances.

"We can quit now after our [financial] reputation has been cleared," Harb told the press following his resignation.

The sports minister is expected to appoint a temporary committee to run the EFA until the next elections.

The date of the elections will not be decided before August.

Former sports minister Abdel Monem Emara and Egypt's former coach Abdu Saleh El Wahsh, are among the names being considered for the vacancy.