Egypt were defeated 1-0 by lowly Niger

Egypt have formally asked Caf to postpone next month's Cup of Nations against South Africa because of the recent civil unrest in their country.

The BBC reported last week that Egypt were planning to put in the request for the away clash to be rescheduled.

Caf said they had received a request from the Egypt authorities and would discuss it over the next few days.

Egypt want the 26 March game in Johannesburg to be put back to June because of a shutdown of their league.

This came in the wake of the riots and demonstrations that led to the toppling of president Hosni Mubarak earlier this month.

With many players in the Pharaohs squad playing in the local league, officials say their form has been affected.

Egyptian clubs have not played league matches since early January and the Egypt Football Association (EFA) feels their players will not have had the requisite preparation for the qualifier.

It is a key game for Egypt, who have won the last three Nations Cup finals, because they have fallen three points behind South Africa in the standings after the first two rounds of matches.

Only the group winner is guaranteed a place at the 2012 finals, co-hosted by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Egypt have asked Caf to consider their situation a case of 'force majeure', which would allow them to claim a postponement because of circumstances beyond their control.

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