2008–09 Egyptian Premier League
The 2008–09 Egyptian Premier League is the current season of the hightest-level football league in Egypt; the season began on 8 August 2008, and ends on 22 May 2009. Al Ahly were crowned champions in the previous season for the fourth year in a row and for the thirty-third time in total since the league start in 1948.
Channels broadcasting the League matches
- Egyptian Channel 2
- Egyptian Channel 3
- Nile Sport
- El Hayah
- Egyptian Satellite TV
- Modern Sport
- Dream 1
- A-R-T Sports (1,2,3,4)
- Al-Riyadiyah (Orbit)
- Al-Hayat TV (1,2)
- Egyptian Channel 5 ( Alexandria Team )
Special Matches
As always, in any league, there are certain matches that are the highlight matches of the season. In Egypt, the matches that are anticipated the most are those among the triangle of power in Egypt, which consists of Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaily.
- Whether one refers to it as the "Egyptian Derby," the "Cairo Derby" or "Africa's Derby," Al Ahly v. Zamalek is one of the top derbies in the world. It is a match between Africa's most successful clubs, as they have 11 Champions League titles between them, five for Zamalek and six for Al Ahly.
- The Cairo-Ismailia Rivalry is another clash of the titans in Egyptian football, as Cairo-based clubs Ahly and Zamalek have mixed relations with the city of Ismailia, home to the Ismaily Sports Club, the third most decorated side in Egypt. The Zamalek-Ismaily games are usually peaceful as the clubs' boards and fans have had traditionally good relations with each other, unlike the relationship between Ahly and Ismaily fans.
The reason for the hatred between Ahly and Ismaily fans is not clear, but most agree that the main conflict stems back to the 1967 Six Day War. Israeli troops forced the people of Ismailia and most of the people living on the Suez Canal to evacuate and leave their homes, going westwards towards the inside of Egypt. Ismaily SC asked Al Ahly to host them, but the Cairo giants refused. This was a bitter blow to the relationship between both sides, and has always been a touchy point ever since. Also, during Ahly's reconstruction period in 2004, Ahly managed to sign a host of former Ismaily star players including Mohamed Barakat, Islam Al Shater and Emad Al Nahhas.
Team Notes
As of 5th of November
- PetroJet continues its special form since last season and manages to retain competition on the top spot of the table with 21 points in its first 10 matches from a possible 30.
-Al Ahly is sitting 7th of the table with 13 points and 4 matches in hand, including a match against Ismaily. Ahly won 4, tied in one and lost one match in Port Said to Al Masry.
- Zamalek sits third with 16 points and 2 matches in hand, winning 5, drawing in 1 and losing 2 matches including a match against minnows Al Olimpy at home in Cairo.
- Al Ismaily managed to start strongly but seems to be fading away. 4th in table with 16 points and a game in hand, winning 5, drawing one in the Suez Canal Derby with Al Masry and losing 3 including a match against new commers Shorta.
Highlights of the Premier League
- Mahmoud "Shikabala" Abd El Razek, the Zamalek playmaker, was given a 6-month ban by FIFA due to irregularities in his transfer to Zamalek from Greek side PAOK on July 23rd and fined 990.000Euros. He is expected to make his comeback on 7th of November in Zamalek's home match against Al Mokawleen.
- Ahmed Hassan, Egypt's National Team captain, makes his first entrance to the Egyptian Premier League since 1998 with his new club Al Ahly from R.S.C. Andelecht for an undisclosed amount.
- Ghana's golden boy of CAN 2008 "Junior" Agogo was transferred from Nottingham Forest to Zamalek for a reported 800,000Euros, a record signing an African player in Egypt.
- Former PetroJet's Ivorian forward Zika Jori stirred Egyptian newspapers with his flight to UAE to complete a transfer to Al-Wasl through buying out the remainder of his contract with the Suez-based club amounted to 350,000 USD. At the time he was the Egyptian Premier League's top goalscorer.
- Al Masry's general manager and Egyptian legend Hossam Hassan was given a 6 match touchline ban by the Egyptian FA and fined 50,000 Egyptian Pounds in Week 5 due to his arguments with the referee and the forth official in Al Masry's away match with Egyptian Telecom.
- Al Ismaili managed to re-enter former star forward Mohamed Mohsen Abo Greisha into their ranks after returning from a one-year loan spell in Zhejiang Lucheng of the Chinese Super League. They contracted the veteran striker to a 3 years and a half contract.
- El-Masry Chairman and well-known Port Saidi businessman Sayed Metwally passed away during Week 10 due to Cardiac arrest. As such in the second set of matches of the week, teams wore black armbands. He was 68.
The Governorates
| Nr. | Name | Area (km²) | Population (2006) | Capital | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexandria | 2,900 | 4,110,015 | Alexandria | Al Itthad Al Sakandary - El-Olympi - Haras El Hodood |
| 2 | Asyut | 25,926 | 3,441,597 | Asyut | Petrol Asyout |
| 3 | Cairo | 3,435 | 7,786,640 | Cairo | Al Ahly - Al Mokawloon - ENPPI - El-Jaish - El-Shorta - Itesalat |
| 4 | Gharbia | 25,400 | 3,790,670 | Tanta | Ghazl El-Mehalla |
| 5 | Giza | 85,153 | 6,272,571 | Giza | Zamalek- Tersana |
| 6 | Ismailia | 1,442 | 942,832 | Ismailia | Ismaily |
| 7 | Port Said | 72 | 570,768 | Port Said | Al Masry |
| 6 | Suez | 17,840 | 510,935 | Suez | Petrojet |
Title Playoff
| Ahly F.C. | v | Ismaily F.C. |
|---|---|---|
      Ahly
|
 Ismaily
|
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MATCH OFFICIALS
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MATCH RULES
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League Table 2008-2009
- The league is still in play
| Al-Ahly | |||||||||||
| Ismaily | |||||||||||
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Haras El Hodood | ||||||||||
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ENPPI | ||||||||||
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Petrojet | ||||||||||
| Zamalek | |||||||||||
| El Geish | |||||||||||
| El-Shorta | |||||||||||
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Al Itthad Al Sakandary | ||||||||||
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Masry | ||||||||||
| El-Meqawleen | |||||||||||
| Petrol Asyut | |||||||||||
| Ghazl El-Mehalla | |||||||||||
| Telecom Egypt | Egyptian Second Division | ||||||||||
| Tersana | |||||||||||
| Olympi |
(C)= Champions, Prg = Progress, Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; ± = Goal difference; Pts = Points
Source: FIFA.com
Last updated May 21, 2009, 8:40 AM GMT.
- Event: Week 30 still in play
- Top 2 qualify to CAF African Champions League.
- Egyptian Cup winner & 3rd place quailfy to CAF Cup.
- Bottom 3 relegate to Egyptian Second Division.
Top scorers
| Rank | Scorer | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ernest Papa Arko
|
El Geish | 12 |
| 2 |  Flavio Amado
|
El Ahly | 11 |
 Ahmed Gaafar
|
Telecom Egypt | ||
 Mostafa Karim
|
Ismaily | ||
| Ihab El-Masry
|
Mokawloon al-Arab | ||
| 3 | Mohamed Barakat
|
El Ahly | 10 |
| Mohamed Aboutrika
|
El Ahly | ||
| 4 | Mohamed El-Gabbas
|
El Masry | 9 |
| Ahmed Raouf
|
ENPPI Club | ||
| Abdallah Said
|
Ismaily | ||
| Ahmed Omran
|
Itesalat |
Top Scorer by Field Position
| POS | Scorer | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| FW | Ernest Papa Arko
|
El Geish | 12 |
| MF | Mohamed Barakat
|
El Ahly | 10 |
| DF | Mahmoud Fathalla
|
El Zamalek | 6 |
Last updated May 21, 2009, 10:30 AM GMT.
- Event: Week 30 still in play
- Postponed Games: None
Results
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Statistics
Non-Egyptian Players
- No. of Non-Egyptian players in the current league 2008-2009:
- 41 Players (Excluding players that have ended their contarct mid-season)
- Ghana has 10 players in the Egyptian League, followed by Côte d'Ivoire 5 players and Nigeria and Mozambique with 4 players each.
Stadiums
Cairo International Stadium is home to Cairo giants El_Ahly and Zamalek. Ismailia Stadium is home to Ismaily SC. The recently opened Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria (capacity: 80,000) is currently mainly used for international competition, as it was constructed as part of Egypt's failed bid to land the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, there is speculation that League sides from Alexandria will eventually call it their home grounds.
Clubs Stadiums
- For a full list of clubs see List of football clubs in Egypt.
See also
External links
- all about Egyptian football
- ALL ABOUT EGYTIAN PLAYERS
- [1] best site about egyptianfootball
- RSSSF
- RSSSF competition history
- [2] Egyptian Premier League schedule, match results, and match downloads
- [3] Filgoal.com Egyptian Premier League Live And It is very fast scoreboard