Winning a third consecutive Nations Cup title with a squad that mainly consists of home-based players shows how strong the Egyptian Premier League is.

Egyptian people used to set teams like Ivory Coast, Cameroon and Nigeria as examples the Pharaohs should follow to enjoy success.

They regarded them very highly because their squads boasts many players who ply their trade in leading European clubs.

But those prominent players, including the likes of Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto'o and Yaya Toure, once again failed to shine and guide their teams to glory.

It was Egypt instead who prevailed with players like Geddo and Wael Gomaa who never experienced European football.

Geddo in particular did not even play in regional competitions, he was just playing with modest club Ittihad in the Egyptian league and few believed he deserved to feature in a high-profile tournament like the Nations Cup.

Yet, he made a stunning impact and scooped the top scorer award after scoring five goals despite being used as a substitute, to beat the likes of Eto'o and Drogba.

The products of the Egyptian league have proved their worth on the international stage in 2006, 2008 and 2010, so time has come to care more about our domestic competitions.

Having a poor league will surely affect the national team, even if we have many foreign-based players.

The Egyptian players should, for instance, turn a blind eye to any offers from weaker leagues.

Essam Al-Hadari only regained his top form when he left Swiss side Sion and joined Ismaili last summer.

Hosni Abd-Rabou has also failed to recapture the form that saw him named best player in Egypt's 2008 triumphant Nations Cup campaign since moving to Ahli Dubai.

The prospect of playing in the English or Spanish leagues for example definitely appeals to Egyptian players but if such an opportunity did not come up, they should not be too bothered.