RABAT — Al-Ahly of Egypt retained their title at the 2024 IHF Men’s African Club Handball Championship, sweeping their opponents on their way to the trophy in Morocco.
In the women’s competition, the most decorated team in history, Angolan side Petro Atletico, clinched the trophy, sealing their first title since 2013.
In the men’s competition, 16 teams lined up at the start, with three teams from Ethiopia and Morocco each, two teams from Egypt, Congo, Cameroon and Benin and one team from Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.
The sides were divided into four groups of four teams each, with the top two sides in each group progressing into the quarter-finals.
Three sides had a perfect run in the group phase, with the big title favourites, Egyptian sides Al-Ahly and Zamalek being two of them, while hosts Widad Smara being the third.
According to the IHF official website, Al-Ahly had the best attack, scoring 150 goals, and the best defence, conceding 44 goals, being once again thoroughly dominant.
They doubled down on that amazing form in the quarter-finals, where they disposed of Moroccan side Raja Agadir, 33:13, setting up a crunch semi-final against Zamalek SC, their arch-rivals, which clinched a 45:26 against Benin side Adjidja HBC.
However, Widad, the other side which was aiming for perfection, conceded a tough 20:23 loss against fellow Moroccan side Mountada Derb Sultan, which faced another team from Benin in the semi-final, HBC Flowers.
The two semi-finals were the most balanced matches in the men’s competition, with Al-Ahly and Zamalek engaging in yet another derby for the ages between the Egyptian powerhouses which dominated the continent in the past years.
Eventually, Al-Ahly, the reigning champions, secured a 26:25 win, making it to the final for the second season in a row.
The other semi-final was even more balanced, with Mountada aiming to become the first team from Morocco to clinch a finals berth since AS Casablanca in 2008.
After a dramatic match, which needed extra-time, Benin side Flowers stood tall and eventually took a 40:38 win, becoming the first team from Benin which plays the final since Pelican Cotonou in 1998.
But there was no question about the winner, as Al-Ahly was too strong for Flowers SC, taking a clear 43:22 win, to seal their second title in a row and their seventh in history.
Zamalek took a 35:25 win against Mountada to secure the bronze medal, their third in history.
The women’s competition has been won by an Angolan team in the last 25 editions and the streak was extended this edition to 26 times, after Petro Atletico delivered a perfect competition to secure the gold medal.
Favourites Primeiro de Agosto was surprisingly eliminated in the quarter-finals by Al-Ahly, with the Egyptian side stopping the Angolan side’s streak of eight consecutive titles in the African premium competition.
But on the other hand, Petro Atletico made it to the final with relative ease, taking a 45:23 win against Abidjan HBC and a 31:18 win against Al-Ahly, before setting up a final against Tunisian side ASF Sahel.
No Tunisian side had ever won the trophy, but Sahel was the closest, after pushing the match into extra-time, with the two sides locked in, 25:25, after 60 minutes.
Eventually, Petro Atletico secured the 35:30 win, with centre back Vila Neganga scoring seven goals, while goalkeeper Teresa Almeida saved nine shots.
It was Petro Atletico’s 20th title in history, while Al-Ahly women’s handball team clinched the bronze medal, with a 31:22 win over Congo side AS Otoho.
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