RADES, Tunisia — CAF Champions League reigning champions, Al-Ahly of Egypt is on the cusp of extending their record and rubber-stamping their dominance as African club football kings.
The Egyptian giants will face formidable Tunisian side, Esperance De Tunis on Saturday evening in the first-leg of the CAF Champions League Final in Tunis.
The reigning champions head into the clash as the firm favourites with this being their fifth consecutive final in the competition, as they close in on an iconic 12th CAF Champions League gold medal.
With competition getting tougher in the CAF Champions League, the Egyptians had to dig deep and show their championship mettle and discipline with an impressive defensive record that sees them and their fellow finalists boasting the best defensive record of the competition.
CAF Online takes a look at the defending champions’ journey to the final
Preliminary Round
Al-Ahly easily brushed aside Ethiopian side Saint George SC in the second preliminary stage of the competition with a comfortable 7-0 aggregate scoreline, after a first leg 3-0 away win was followed by a comfortable 4-0 victory in Cairo.
Group Stage
Drawn in a tough Group D consisting of Tanzanian champions Young Africans, Medeama of Ghana as well as Algerian side, CR Belouizdad, it was all to play for in the journey to the knockout stages.
It was not the easiest path out of the group stages for the defending champions who despite not losing a single match, had to settle for a point on three occasions out of the six group fixtures.
They finished top of the group with 12 points from three victories and three draws.
Quarter-Finals
Al-Ahly had to face another Tanzanian powerhouse in Simba AC in the quarter-finals.
In the away tie, the Egyptians grinded out a victory with a narrow 1-0 win in Tanzania before wrapping it up in Cairo with a convincing 2-0 victory to march onto the semi-finals.
Semi-Finals
Faced with a highly determined TP Mazembe side that has since been yearning to end their continental drought, Ahly travelled to Lubumbashi for the first leg which concluded 0-0 after a highly tactical encounter by the two giants and eye-catching acrobatic saves by the in-form Mostafa Shobeir.
With the backing of their home supporters, the reigning champions made light weight of Mazembe, as they cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory to book their place in the final.
With defending Al-Ahly looking to stretch their record to 12 titles, Esperance is determined to bring to a halt what could be a five year wait to lifting an African title since their fourth CAF Champions League triumph in 2019.
With African football enjoying a significant rise, the Final which is set to be watched by millions of viewers across the world will be contested by two of the four African clubs set to compete at next year’s Mundial de Clubes FIFA 25 (FIFA Club World Cup 2025).
The high-stakes clash between two African football club giants is set to attract millions of viewers from all corners of the world and as a result, CAF is pulling out all the stops in securing the best broadcast technology to beam the Final live and in high-definition.
Leading up to the final, CAF’s ongoing fan digital engagement continues to see the African game creatively packaged and instantly accessible across the world through its various online platforms.
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