Al-Ahly Sporting Club is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club was founded with multiple sports in mind. But it found its fame worldwide for undisputed domination in Egyptian professional football. The club was founded 100 years ago by a law student. It soon became a member-owned club as the members had the chance to elect the board members, including the president. By value, it is the richest club in Africa. This is not to undermine their success on the pitch. They are the most crowned club in the entire world as they have the highest number of trophies. This automatically makes them the best African and Egyptian team as they dominated the continent and country alike.

Al Ahly: Key Facts

The Red Devils are the most respected club in Egypt. They have been trendsetters in Egypt as they helped the sport grow in the country. They were the pioneers of multiple leagues and drew crowds wherever they went. Let us know more about the club in detail.

Founded24 April 1907
Current OwnerMember Owned
PresidentMahmoud El-Khatib
CountryEgypt
CityCairo
NicknameNadi Al-Watanniyah (Club of Patriotism), Al-Shayateen Al-homr (The Red Devils), Al-Mared Al-Ahmar (The Red Giant)
LeagueEgyptian Premier League
StadiumCairo International Stadium
Capacity75,000
ManagerJose Riveiro
Squad Size 37

History of Al Ahly

Omar Lotfy, a law school student, discussed the idea of establishing Al Ahly in 1907. Along with a group of enthusiastic friends, they founded Al Ahly as a sports club for recreational and political purposes. After the club was properly formed with an organising body, a civil company was established with shares worth £5 million each. The idea of being public and member-owned was very clearly documented there.
The club was open to all sports initially, but the high school graduates who were the club members developed a great passion for football. It prompted them to build their first stadium, called Al-Hawsh, in 1909. The first official football team was established in 1911. They started touring Egyptian cities to spread football.
The club played high-profile football games with British Army teams and increased the love for the game in the country by adding a patriotic factor. Hence, they earned the nickname of the Club of Patriotism. They contributed massively to the first Egyptian football team for the 1920 Olympic Games and also to the formation of the Egyptian Football Association.
They won their first title in 1923 by beating local rivals Zamalek SC in the Sultan Hussain Cup. This was the first of a century more to come as the club developed a taste for winning trophies. A European tour was arranged in 1929 as the club faced several giants across the Mediterranean Sea.
The Cairo League was the only active form of league football in Egypt back then, and Al Ahly dominated rivals Zamalek by storming to multiple league titles. They racked up several King Farouk Cups and Sultan Hussein Cups as well. After being the pioneers behind the first Egyptian Premier League in 1948, they won the league title ahead of Zamalek and also won the King Farouk Cup at the expense of the same team. Mokhtar al Tetsh was the manager who led them to glory. He won the first title for the club as a player and their first league title as a manager.
The following season in 1950, they won a treble of EPL, Cairo League, and the Egypt Cup by beating Tersana, who finished second in all competitions. They continued to dominate the country by winning multiple titles. However, a dry spell lasted for 13 years at the club after 1962 as they struggled due to the Six-Day War in 1967.
Manager Nandor Hidegkuti was roped in in 1973 with the hope of reviving the club. He worked wonders with the new generation known as El Talamza (the students) by winning the league in 1975. They participated in the African Champions League soon, but success eluded them.
1982 saw their first continental success by beating Asante Kotoko S.C. in the finals. The first African Cup Winners’ Cup title was sealed in 1984 after defeating Canon Yaounde on penalties. They completed a historic treble in 1985. After boycotting the African Cup competitions, citing biased refereeing and poor financial returns, the club joined the Arab Championships in 1992.
The stance lasted for six years before returning to the African confederation again in 1998. They dominated the continent like it was their birthright. But the best was yet to come, as 2005-2013 is often referred to as the Gold Era of the club. An unprecedented invincible quadruple was achieved in 2006, and the club went 852 days without a loss. They kept on adding league and continental titles, but were rocked by the Port Said Stadium riot, which resulted in 74 tragic deaths of fans along with more than 500 injuries. The club recovered well after grieving and returned to winning ways.
The club is currently under the presidency of Mahmoud El Khatib, who won the election by a landslide. Hossam El-Badry led them to their 40th league title in 2018. After another league title in 2019, they became the most-crowned club in world football. They added twenty more trophies between then and now, as their current trophy count stands at 155. They registered another league title in 2025 and entered the FIFA Club World Cup yet again.

Al Ahly Sponsors and Net Worth

Al Ahly is often ranked as the most valuable and richest club in Africa. This strong value comes from the estimated 40 million fan base around the world. Being public helped them create great interest and a self-sustaining source of revenue. Playing their hand in real estate also helped them generate revenue. Being one of the most successful clubs meant they had no dearth of sponsors who would fight to be in line for them.

Net Worth€ 30.5 Million
SponsorsEtisalat, Red Bull, Panini Sport, Kasrawy Group, Shell
Revenue SourcesBroadcasting rights, sponsorships, merchandising, matchday income and player sales.

Al Ahly Derbies

Al Ahly enjoys a Cairo Derby against Zamalek SC. Both clubs are located in the Greater Cairo region and are the most successful teams in the country. Naturally, sparks would fly when they meet twice a season in the league. Al Ahly managed to end Zamalek’s early domination in the 1920s and built their own dynasty. Al Ahly leads the head-to-head count with 99 wins and 53 draws. Their opponents had the upper hand only 79 times.

Al Ahly Trophies & Achievements

Al Ahly are the undisputed most successful team in the world by trophy count. What started as a simple cup-winning run expanded into a historic run that would probably never be eclipsed by anyone in the world. They showed their superiority in the Cairo League before translating it into the Egyptian Premier League.

They even swept the Egyptian Cup competitions before making their presence known in continental competitions. They are the record holders of the CAF Champions League and African Cup Winners’ Cup, along with the CAF Super Cup.

CompetitionNo.of TitlesSeasons
Egyptian Premier League 451948–49, 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, 1999–2000, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25
Egypt Cup391923–24, 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, 2016–17, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2022–23
Egypt Super Cup152003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024
Sultan Hussein Cup71922–23, 1924–25, 1925–26, 1926–27, 1928–29, 1930–31, 1937–38
Egyptian Confederation Cup11990
Cairo League171924-25, 1926-27, 1927-28, 1928-29, 1930-31, 1934-35, 1935-36, 1936-37, 1937-38, 1938-39, 1941-42, 1942-43, 1945-46, 1947-48, 1949–50, 1953-54, 1957–58
United Arab Republic Cup11961
CAF Champions League121982, 1987, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24
African Cup Winners' Cup41984,1985,1986,1993
CAF Confederation Cup12014
CAF Super Cup82002, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2021, 2021
FIFA African–Asian–Pacific Cup12024
Afro-Asian Cup11988
Arab Club Champions Cup11996
Arab Cup Winners' Cup11994
Arab Super Cup21997,1998

Future Goals

Al Ahly has dominated Egypt and Africa and is the most respected team in the land. However, they have stumbled in the Club World Cup multiple times. Third and fourth-place finishes were common for them. They would love to be amongst the top 2 in that competition or even win it for the first time. The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup provides them the perfect chance to do it.
They also launched what they call “Project of the Century” to build a new and world-class Al Ahly stadium. The project will be a sprawling sports city in Sheikh Zayed. The first phase, which is under construction right now, will have a stadium and a hotel. The other phases will introduce multiple other stadiums along with hospitals, hotels, museums, and training pitches. The club, even with unprecedented levels of success, is still hungry for more, as the fans and supporters will never get tired of their success.