CAIRO: Zamalek held Ahly Jeddah to a 1-1 away draw on Tuesday to advance to the Arab Champions League semi-finals as Group A leaders. The Cairo giants stunned the home crowd in the 16th minute when Amr Zaki laid off the ball to the onrushing Alaa Abdul-Ghani, who fired a powerful right-footed low drive into …

CAIRO: Ismaili club have released veteran striker Mohamed Salah Abou-Greisha following his outspoken criticism of the club, a decision that put an end to the player s 18-year association with Dervishes. Abou-Greisha is free to join any club he wants, Ismaili president Yehia Al-Koumi told reporters on Monday. Earlier on Saturday, Abou-Greisha held a press …

CAIRO: Al Ahly midfielder Mohamed Barakat took part in the team s training on Monday for the first time in four months after recovering from a knee injury sustained last year. Al Ahly assistant coach Hossam Al-Badri told FilGoal.com that Barakat will not be rushed into action against Masri in the Egyptian League on Wednesday …

CAIRO: Egypt Olympic team coach Eduardo Vingada was delighted after his side crushed Ethiopia 4-0 and secured passage to the African Games, two weeks before their anticipating clash against Ivory Coast. The Pharaohs, held 1-1 at home, face Ivory Coast on March 25th in the second-leg of the Beijing Olympic Games qualifiers second-round. Although our …

CAIRO: Egypt reached the African Olympic Games after thrashing Ethiopia 4-0 at home on Sunday to advance with a 4-2 aggregate victory. The Pharaohs came on with all guns blazing in order to overcome their 2-0 defeat in the first-leg. Defender Karim Zekri opened the score line after eight minutes when he met Ahmed Samir …

CAIRO: Manuel Jose launched a fresh attack on the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) as he accused anonymous officials of instructing referees to favor Al-Ahly s arch-rivals Zamalek. The Al-Ahly manager said in a recent interview that Zamalek players who had a caution before the Cairo derby were not shown any yellow cards intentionally to be …

Zamalek players have received part of their wages which were suspended after the team s 2-0 away defeat to Sudan s Hilal in the CAF Champions League. The players bonuses for reaching the Arab Champions League semi-finals as well as their monthly salaries were banned following their dismal form against Hilal in the first-leg of …

We don’t usually give much thought to handicapped athletes but fortunately some people are not like us, like film star Hussein Fahmi, just selected as ambassador of the Middle East and North Africa region of SO, or Special Olympics. Fahmi’s famed looks and appeal is certain to help realize SO’s simple goal: to improve the …

CAIRO: Zamalek are planning to add forward Mahmoud Abdul-Razeq Shikabala to their Arab and African squads, a club official said. The Egyptian giants have voiced their intention to contact the Arab Union Football Association (UAFA) and Confederation of African Football (CAF) regarding the status of Shikabala, who has been involved in a tug-of-war between Zamalek …

Reuters JOHANNESBURG: Egypt s Al Ahly made a quiet start to their African Champions League defense with a goalless draw in Zimbabwe in their second round, first leg encounter on Sunday. They found the back of the net in their tie against Highlanders in Bulawayo but striker Flavio s effort was ruled out for a …

CAIRO: Zamalek s hopes of reaching the CAF Champions League round of 16 are in jeopardy following a surprising 2-0 away defeat to Sudan s Hilal on Sunday. The Sudanese champions dominated most of the game as the post and keeper Abdul-Wahed Al-Sayed denied the hosts a deserved lead in the first-half In the second …

CAIRO: Alexandria s Ittihad announced that the condition which striker Mohamed Farouk set in order to renew his contract was unacceptable. Farouk’s contract with Ittihad ends at the end of the season and the Alexandria-based club offered him a new two-year deal that would see him making LE 450,000 in his first season and LE …

CAIRO: Ismaili goalkeeper Mohamed Sobhi blocked a stoppage-time penalty to help his side claim a 2-2 away draw with Madagascar side Ajesaia in the first-leg of the Confederation Cup round of 32. The Dervishes went one down in the 15th minute but midfielder Mohamed Soliman Hommos leveled the score four minutes before the break. Hommos …

CAIRO: The Egyptian Football Association (EFA) has decided to postpone the 23rd round of the premier league that was scheduled for March 8, spokesman Medhat Shalabi said on Wednesday. Shalabi said the EFA made its decision based on a request from Olympic national team coach Eduardo Vingada. Vingada had asked the EFA to postpone the …

In three years, I want to play for Barcelona, says Zidan CAIRO: Egyptian forward Mohamed Zidan has been named German Bundesliga Player of the Month in a poll carried out by German sports daily Kicker, DSF channel and the Bundesliga organizing committee. The 25-year-old won over 50 percent of the votes for the immediate impact …

CAIRO: Al Ahly delegation survived a potential plane crash while landing at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, the club’s official website reported on Thursday. The African champions were making a transit stop in the South African city on their way to Zimbabwe where they will face Highlanders club in the CAF Champions League …

Everyone agrees that deciding soccer matches with penalty kicks is a bad idea – everybody, that is, except Egyptians. Egypt won last year’s African Cup of Nations and Egypt’s Ahly captured their last two African Super Cups, the last being two weeks ago, by winning penalty shootouts. Still, it s a miserable way to end …

CAIRO: Al-Ahly of Egypt launches their challenge for a record third consecutive African Champions League title at Highlanders of Zimbabwe Sunday. It is one of 15 second round, first leg qualifiers scheduled for this weekend with the fixture between Fello Star of Guinea and Etoile Sahel of Tunisia postponed due to civil unrest in Conakry. …

CAIRO: Egyptian Football Association (EFA) turned down Al-Ahly s request to postpone league games against Masri and Ghazl Mahalla for 24 hours. The Egyptian champions demanding delaying Masri match, which is scheduled for Thursday March eighth, due to their African Champions League commitment. Al-Ahly will begin their title defense against Highlanders club in Zimbabwe in …

CAIRO: Ahly continued their march towards a third successive Egyptian League title after grabbing a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Tersana at the Military Academy on Friday. In-form Angolan striker Flavio struck on either side of the interval but was cancelled out twice by strikes from Allam Bou-Farma and Hossam Hassan s controversial penalty. But another …

Aboutrika to represent Ahly at CAF Awards ceremon CAIRO: Egypt Olympic team slumped to a 2-0 away defeat to Ethiopia in the first-leg of the African Games qualifiers second-round on Sunday. Saladin Tato put the hosts in front after 12 minutes after breaking through Egypt s poor defense before poking into the back of the …

ADDIS ABABA: Goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadary was the hero on Sunday as Al-Ahly of Egypt retained the African Super Cup with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Etoile Sahel of Tunisia. The annual match between the holders of the African Champions League and the African Confederation Cup ended goalless after extra time at the National Stadium …

CAIRO: Despite leaving for Belgium, midfielder Ahmed Hassan remains the most popular Egyptian in the Turkish football scene, international defender Ibrahim Saied insisted. Saied, who joined Turkish outfit Rizespor in the winter transfer window from Zamalek, said that he hopes he can build a strong bond with Turkish fans just like his Egypt teammate and …

CAIRO: Zamalek boosted their Arab Champions League hopes after beating Kuwait’s Qadsia 4-2 at Cairo International Stadium in a thrilling encounter on Thursday. Abu Kone stunned the home crowd in the 17th minute before Ghanaian midfielder Awuley ‘Junior’ Quaye leveled the score seven minutes before the interval. Abdul-Halim Ali put Zamalek ahead five minutes after …

There’s a certain egalitarianism to championships that depend on just one game: On the condition that some semblance of equality exists between the two teams, like the underdog having just as much chance of winning as the favorite, making the game intriguing because of its unpredictability. Such question marks do not usually hover over a …

CAIRO: Ahli playmaker Mohamed Abou-Treika will miss his side s clash against Tunisian side Etoile Sahel in the African Super Cup on Sunday after failing to recover from injury in time. Abou-Treika needs a two-week treatment at least in order to shrug off the groin injury he sustained in the Egyptian League game against Asyut …

CAIRO: Zamalek coach Henri Michel has excluded midfielder Moetazbellah Mohamed ‘Eno’ from his side s squad for the Arab Champions League (ACL) game against Kuwait s Qadsia on Thursday. Although Eno took part in Zamalek s 1-0 victory over Vital O of Burundi in the African Champions League, Michel opted to leave him out of …

AIN SOKHNA: Internationally renowned Swedish golfer Christian Nelson, holder of the 2006 record of Tee in Dubai, participated in the Ain Sokhna Golf Tournament with 90 international players. Calle Carllson, manager of the Golf Course at Ain Sokhna, organized the successful event that was divided into two main parts. The PRO-M was the opening event …

CAIRO: Former winners Canon Yaounde of Cameroon and Asante Kotoko of Ghana made shock African Champions League first-round exits at the weekend. Canon found a one-goal first-leg lead insufficient as they lost 2-0 to Etoile of Congo in Brazzaville with Eder Lebaly scoring twice within five minutes during the opening half. Victory rewarded ambitious Etoile …