Al Ahly SC
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| Full name | El-Ahly Sporting Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Red Devils, The Red Knights, The Red Castle | ||
| Founded | 1907 | ||
| Ground | Cairo Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | ||
| Capacity | 74,100 | ||
| Chairman |  Hassan Hamdy | ||
| Manager |  Manuel José de Jesus | ||
| League | Egyptian League | ||
| 2006-07 | Egyptian League, 1st | ||
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El-Ahly (Arabic: الأهلي) is an Egyptian football (soccer) team that was founded and first headed by the English gentleman Mitchel Ince in April, 1907 in Cairo, Egypt. The club has risen from popular roots to become Africa’s greatest club as well as being one of the world's most successful clubs, with 103 trophies in 100 years. El-Ahly, best known as the “people’s club”, is believed to have 50 million supporters in Egypt, making them the most supported club in Africa and the Middle East and one of the most popular clubs in the world.
El-Ahly, literally translating to "national" in Arabic, is the most crowned club in Egypt, having won the Egyptian League 32 times (more than the sum of all other Egyptian clubs including their arch-rivals El-Zamalek) and the Egyptian Cup a record 35 times. El-Ahly also holds the record in most continental championships, winning the CAF Champions League 5 times (a joint record), the African Cup-Winners-Cup 4 times (a record), the CAF super cup 3 times (a joint record), and the Afro-Asian Cup 1 time. As a result, the club was named "African club of the 20th century" by CAF in 2000.
El-Ahly began to dominate the Egyptian game in the 1940s due to its popularity among people and rulers of Egypt at that period. But it was not until the 80s that the Red Devils truly emerged at the African level, winning the top club competition in 1982 and 1987. They triumphed under the guidance of Portuguese coach Manuel Jose recently, winning the African Champions League (ACL) in 2001 & for the last 2 seasons (2005 & 2006) beating Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia in 3-0 on aggregate in 2005, and beating CS Sfaxien of Tunisia 2-1 on aggregate in 2006. They were also strong favourites to win the 2007 edition for a 3rd successive time after qualifying to the final against Etoile du Sahel, who they beat in 2005, but they surprisingly lost 1-3 on aggregate.
El-Ahly has a fierce rivalry with local rival El Zamalek; the derby matches are so intense, that foreign referees are brought in to officiate the game. The strong rivalry between the two sets of fans can be compared to Celtic-Rangers.
History
The idea
The idea of establishing el-Ahly was aroused by Omar Lotfi. He shared the idea with Edris Rageb Basha, Omar Sultan Pasha, Ismail Serry, Abdelkhalek Sarwat, and Amin Samy. They came together with the idea to establish a club for high school students to spend their spare time, as the Union was formed for political reasons in the first place. They decided to establish a company with five thousand Egyptian Pounds.
The higher administrative committee (The Board) chose Englishman Mitchel Ince as the first president of Al-Ahly in order to get the blessings of the occupation authorities and to help obtain suitable land (from the government) for establishing the club.
The first official meeting of higher administrative committee was held in April 24, 1907, in Anas' residence, as Mitchel Ince as chairman and Omar Lotfi, Edris Rageb Pasha, Ismail Serry, and Ameen Sammy as members and Mohamed Sherif as a secretary. Ince remained president until April 2, 1908.
It is worth mentioning that el-Ahly has a great rivalry with el-Zamalek club of Egypt. Both teams exchanged several players throughout their history leading to a lot of disputes and challenges. They have met more than 90 times in derbies. The biggest score was for Zamalek defeating Ahly 6:0 in the Egyptian Soccer Cup in 1944. El-Ahly defeated Zamalek 6:1 in the Egyptian League 2001/02.
The name
On February 25 1908, Ameen Samy suggested the name El-Ahly Athletic Club (National Athletic Club), as it was founded to contain high school students who were the main pillar for the resistance against the British occupation of Egypt. Thus it was founded as an Egyptian national club to unite these students, and named El-Ahly to represent nationalism with the literal meaning of the word. El-Ahly is considered the first club founded for Egyptians in Egypt under British occupation.
Colours
El-Ahly derived its color from the early 20th century Flag of Egypt. Story of the color goes back to year 1911 when the jersey was linear striped in red and white. Then, it was changed to a half red-a half white linear jersey ,until it rests at the red color only as it was the color of the Egyptian flag in the reign period of Abbas Helmy the second at that time.
Logo
el-Ahly’s logo was designed on November 3 1917 by Mohammad Sherif Sabry Bek, a member in the club at that time and was the King Farouk uncle. The logo was adorned with the king’s crown which was the symbol of reign in the upper part.
The club's logo is a red shield with a white slash across it and an image of an eagle on the slash. The logo also includes the words "El Nady El Ahly"; El-Ahly Club.
Chairmen
| No | Name | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Mitchel Ince
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24 Apr 1907 | 01 Apr 1908 |
| 2 |  Aziz Pasha Ezzat
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02 Apr 1908 | 09 Feb 1916 |
| 3 | Abd El-Khalik PashaTharwat
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09 Feb 1916 | 14 Feb 1924 |
| 4 | Gaafar Pasha Wali
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14 Feb 1924 | 07 Jul 1940 |
| 5 | Mohamed Pasha Taher
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07 Jul 1940 | 02 Febr 1941 |
| 6 | Gaafar Pasha Wali
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03 Feb 1941 | 02 Jan 1944 |
| 7 | Ahmed Pasha Hasanain
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03 Jan 1944 | 19 Feb 1946 |
| 8 | Ahmed Pasha Abboud
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19 Feb 1946 | 19 Dec 1961 |
| 9 | Salah Eldine El-Desouky
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19 Dec 1961 | 15 Dec 1965 |
| 10 | Gen. Abd El-Mohsen Mortagy
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15 Dec 1965 | 13 Jul 1967 |
| 11 | Dr. Ibrahim Kamel El-Wakeel
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13 Jul 1967 | 8 Nov 1972 |
| 12 | Gen. Abd El-Mohsen Mortagy
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08 Nov 1972 | 12 Dec 1980 |
| 13 | Saleh Selim
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12 Dec 1980 | 16 Dec 1988 |
| 14 | Mohamed Abdou Saleh El-Wahsh
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16 Dec 1988 | 06 Feb 1992 |
| 15 | Saleh Selim
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06 Feb 1992 | 06 May 2002 |
| 16 | Hassan Hamdy
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06 May 2002 | Present |
Managers
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Captains
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Fans
El Ahly has a fan base of more than 55 million.
Fans groups
ALU ( Ahly lovers union ): In the year 2000, 7 friends that all know each other from the stadium and through the only online Ahly forum at the time met with the intention of forming the 1st ever organized supporters club in Egypt ,so since they were a group of around 40 persons that sit in the same stand ( east stand, tania yemeen ) they decided it was time to form a group and the name Ahly Lovers Union was chosen . This name entered the history books cause after that every team in the land formed a group that is called XX lovers union, which is an indication of their( Ahly) role as leaders on and off the field . In the year 2001, , they decided to create a giant flag ( 40 x 20 ) as a tifo for the friendly against Real Madrid which was organized as a celebration for the club after El-Ahly was chosen as African club of the century, the giant tifo was the talk of Egypt at the time . It was the 1st tifo in the history of Africa. Several small tifos followed, last was a huge flag in Barcelona game. The group may be in decline, but it has built strong foundation for the ultra movement in Egypt.
AFC ( Ahly fans club ): In 2004 , 10 people extremely influenced by the european style of “curva” decided to start a group in the curva Nord , back then the traditional house for the singing fans was the east stand or where ALU where located ,they went and sat there by themselves and singing by themselves, their slogan was non stop singing for 90 mns .
They began to gain incredible popularity due to their new style , as Egyptian fans were very famous for being extremely loud before the game and fading down during the actual game, and with the board decision to increase tickets price and separate the east and the curva with different tickets ( historically the east and the curva were same price) , they were the 1st ones to introduce the Grecques , which make a habit in the curva once El-Ahly take a 2 goal lead to just give their back to the stand and jump around. They were the 1st to start using flares and pyro to celebrate goals also they increase the usage of drums.
UA.07 ( Ultras Ahlawy ): Due to the many problems in AFC & ALU, a new group formed that contains former members of both groups that combine the most extreme and passionate ultras in the curva. What distinguishes them from the other 2 groups that they are not recognized by the club as they are considered a bit extreme to their taste due to their love for violence. They sit in gate 11 in Curva Nord of Cairo stadium, right beside AFC ( one of the other 2 groups ), Ultras Ahlawy is like a family, this is why they are very selective when it comes to accepting members to preserve the family atmosphere within the group, you don’t ask to be a member of Ultras ahlawy, you have to be invited to become a member. A lot of negative press was reported recently for their behaviour that doesn't follow Egyptian customs and traditions.
Stadium
- Capacity: 25,000
- Place: El-Gezira, Cairo
- Inauguration: 1909
Mokhtar El-Tetsh Stadium is el-Ahly’s training ground, located in El-Ahly Club in El-Gezira and used currently as a training ground.
- Capacity: 74,100
- Place: Nasr City, Cairo
- Inauguration: 1960
Cairo International Stadium is the formal ground for El-Ahly since 1970's.
Honours
World Championships
- Bronze Medalist at FIFA Club World Cup 2006
Egyptian Championships
- Egyptian Premier League, 32 times(Egyptian Record)
Years: 1948/49 - 1949/50 - 1950/51 - 1952/53 - 1953/54 - 1955/56 - 1956/57 - 1957/58 - 1958/59 - 1960/61 - 1961/62 - 1974/75 - 1975/76 - 1976/77 - 1978/79 - 1979/80 - 1980/81 - 1981/82 - 1984/85 - 1985/86 - 1986/87 - 1988/89 - 1993/94 - 1994/95 - 1995/96 - 1996/97 - 1997/98 - 1998/99 - 1999/00 - 2004/05 - 2005/06 - 2006/07
- Egyptian Soccer Cup, 35 times(Egyptian Record)
Years: 1923/24 - 1924/25 - 1926/27 - 1927/28 - 1929/30 - 1930/31 - 1936/37 - 1939/40 - 1941/42 - 1942/43 - 1944/45 - 1945/46 - 1946/47 - 1948/49 - 1949/50 - 1950/51 - 1952/53 - 1955/56 - 1957/58 - 1960/61 - 1965/66 - 1977/78 - 1980/81 - 1982/83 - 1983/84 - 1984/85 - 1988/89 - 1990/91 - 1991/92 - 1992/93 - 1995/96 - 2000/01 - 2002/03 - 2005/06 - 2006/07
- Egyptian Super Cup, 4 times(Egyptian Record)
Years: 2003 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007
- Sultan Hussein Cup, 7 times
Years: 1922/23 - 1923/24 - 1925/26 - 1926/27 - 1928/29 - 1930/31 - 1938/39
- Cairo League, 5 times
Years: 1938/39 - 1941/42 - 1942/43 - 1947/48 - 1949/50
- United Arab Republic League, 1 time
Year: 1960/1961
African Championships
- CAF Champions League, 5 times
Years: 1982 - 1987 - 2001 - 2005 - 2006
- African Cup Winners' Cup, 4 times(African Record)
Years: 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1993
- CAF Super Cup, 3 times (Current Champion)
Years: 2002 - 2006 - 2007
- Afro-Asian Cup, 1 time
Year: 1989
Arab Championships
- Arab Champions Cup, 1 time
Year: 1996
- Arab Cup Winners Cup, 1 time
Year: 1995
- Arab Super Cup, 2 times
Years: 1997 - 1998
Current squad 2007/08
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Board of Directors
| President: | Hassan Hamdy | ||
| Vice-president: | Mahmoud El-Khateeb | ||
| Treasurer: | Mahmoud Baganed | BOD Members: | Khaled Mortagy El-Amry Farouk Hisham Said Khaled El-Darandaly Mohamed AbdElwahab Mohamed Elghazawy Rania Elwani Mahmoud Fahmy Yassin Mansour Mohamed Shawqi |
| General Manager: | Moharam El-Ragheb |
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