Egyptian Nufal begins bike trip to Russia World Cup
News & Trends •
reuters9 a 24 year-old egyptian mohamed ibn nufal nufal has set off from cairos tahrir square for the world cup in russia on a bicycle1 after about 5000 km 3000 miles and 65 days on the road nufal hopes to reach moscow to see egypt make its first appearance in the world cup for 28 years1 nufal plans to get there via jordan bulgaria romania moldova and ukraine. he will fly over syria due to the civil war there and will also give iraq a miss for security reasons1 on his bike nufal has packed spare parts an extra phone batteries and camping gear. in addition to his tent nufal will put up in hostels where he can find them as well as relying on the kindness of strangers for a bed for the night1 it is about the road more than the arrival he told reuters television. if it were just about the world cup i would take a plane. it is a great chance for me to see new things1 a group of cyclists and friends escorted nufal as he started his trip on saturday and he hopes many more will offer him help along the way1 after clinching its world cup spot in october egypt will compete on footballs ultimate stage for the first time since 19901