However, for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, even though Egypt were the defending champions, they failed to qualify. After the Port Said Stadium riot which caused the deaths of 74 people, the Egyptian government shut down the domestic league for two years, which affected the Egyptian national team, resulting in their failure to qualify for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. For the third consecutive time, Egypt failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, this time in Equatorial Guinea in 2015.