Olympic team coach Eduardo 'Nelo' Vingada held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon with Egyptian FA board member Magdi Abdul-Ghani, who is also the team's supervisor and team director Salah Hosni and technical staff members.

"Our objective is to reach the 2008 Olympic Games and we hope that the media will support this young team in their quest," Vingada told reporters in the Egyptian FA headquarters.

The Portuguese manager explained that his previous time in Egypt will come as a great asset during his time with the national Olympic team.

"My spell in charge of Zamalek has familiarized me with the mentality of the Egyptian player," he said. "I will maintain professionalism with all my players."

Vingada and his coaching staff chose a 56-player list for the Olympic team training camp in Alexandria, which will run until the end of July.

The squad will then be trimmed to 25 players who will participate in a friendly tournament in Libya from August 9th to 16th.

"The door is open for all the players who can help the team," the Portuguese said.

Abdul-Ghani insisted the future was bright for this young generation of players.

"These players will be the backbone of the national team that will participate in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers in South Africa," he said.

The Egyptian Olympic team play their first official game against Gambia in the African Olympic qualifiers early September.