The Cairo derby (Egyptian Arabic: ديربي القاهرة) or the Top Match (Egyptian Arabic: مباراة القمة), known as the Arab Classico (Egyptian Arabic: كلاسيكو العرب) is a rivalry between Egyptian football clubs Al Ahly and Zamalek, arguably the two most successful clubs in Egypt and Africa. Al Ahly and Zamalek were named by the CAF as the 1st and 2nd African clubs of the 20th century respectively. It is considered one of the fiercest sports encounters, and its matches attract a large audience. This match is known for its intensity since 1917 until today.

Both teams are located in Greater Cairo and their matches are considered the highlight of the football season with a live broadcast to most of the Middle Eastern and North African countries since the 1970s. Usually the derby is played twice each season with 2 matches in the Egyptian Premier League, but it is not uncommon to find the teams meeting each other in the Egypt Cup, especially in the final, and in Africa's most prestigious club competition, the CAF Champions League. The best-attended football match between Al-Ahly and Zamalek in Cairo attracted a crowd of 120,000.

The rivalry

Al Ahly and Zamalek's historical positions in the league

Ever since their creation, both clubs have been the top clubs in the Egyptian Premier League, the country's top-flight football league. Also, it was chosen one of the five of the toughest derbies in the world according by the BBC.

On 9 February 1917, the first match between Zamalek and Al Ahly took place at Zamalek Stadium, ending with Al Ahly defeating Zamalek by a score of 1–0, with the goal scored by Abdel Hamid Moharram. They met again 21 days later, on 2 March 1917, at Al Ahly Stadium, and Zamalek defeated Al Ahly by a score of 1–0, with the goal scored by Ali El-Hassani.

In the first half of the 20th century. Initially, in the original league, Al Ahly & Zamalek won almost the same amount of trophies in the Cairo League, with Al Ahly winning 15 titles and Zamalek winning 14 titles. In the newly launched Egyptian Premier League in 1948, Al Ahly has proven to be the better team in every aspect of the game and even off the field management wise; Al Ahly won their first league title in the 1948–49 season and won 44 league titles after that. Zamalek managed to win the league 14 times.

مبارة الزمالك والأهلي 1928 2
Cairo derby ending with a 3–0 victory for Zamalek on 30 November 1928

On 5 January 1923, Zamalek met Al Ahly in a friendly contest, the match ended by a victory for Zamalek by a score of 5–0, goals scored by Ali Riadh, Hussein Hegazi and Sadek Fahmy (three goals), Fahmy was the first player to score a hat-trick in the history of the derby, but in a friendly match. In the Sultan Hussein Cup, Zamalek and Al Ahly had never met in the final, however, they played six matches. The first match was in the 1924 Sultan Hussein Cup's semifinal on 17 March 1924, the match finished in a 1–1 draw, in the rematch on 21 March, Zamalek won 2–0 and advanced to the final. One of the unforgettable matches in the history of the Sultan Hussein Cup was the 1930 derby, despite that the two belligerents failed to win this season's title, the match was of a high level of intensity and had much media attention. Zamalek faced Al Ahly in a purely Egyptian contest, in which Zamalek knocked Al Ahly out of the competition, after defeating them with a score of 3–1 in the semi-finals. Zamalek's goals were scored by Mohamed Latif and Mostafa Taha (two goals), while Al Ahly's goal was scored by Mahmoud Mokhtar El Tetsh.

الملك فاروق ومحمد حيدر في نهائي كأس مصر 1944
King Farouk, Mohammed Haidar Pasha (left) and Fouad Serageddin Pasha attending Cairo Derby in the 1944 Egypt Cup final, ended with the largest win in the history of the derby with a 6–3 win for Zamalek, 2 June 1944

The largest winning margin in this derby was 6–3 for Zamalek, which has been achieved 2 times. The first time was the 1942 Cairo Derby on January 2, 1942, in the 1941–42 Cairo League, and the second time was on June 2, 1944, when Zamalek was known as Farouk back then, at the 1944 Egypt Cup Final.

In the first season of the Egyptian Premier League, the first derby took place on 10 September 1948, and the belligerents finished in a draw by a score of 2–2. The second leg finished with a 1–0 win for Zamalek. In the Egypt Cup, they met in the 1952 Egypt Cup final, Zamalek won Al Ahly 2–0, the next year Al Ahly won Zamalek 4–1. In 1959 Egypt Cup final, Zamalek won Al Ahly by a score of 2–1.

The longest unbeaten streak in the history of the derby was eleven years, Al Ahly didn't win Zamalek in an official match from 20 April 1962 to 30 March 1973. However, Al Ahly has the longest winning streaks, especially in the league.

Fans of both clubs can be violent when in anger, such as a match in the 1971–1972 season, which had crowd violence and caused the rest of the season to be called off. Numerous fights, injuries, and deaths have been reported before matters became more controlled due to Egypt's authoritarian regime. Yet many fights and riots still occur after derby matches between both sets of fans, leading the government to post even higher numbers of Central Security Forces troops in the stadium during the derby. The number of fights have increased with the increasing popularity of the "ultras" movement.

Zamalek's president Helmy Zamora receiving Al Ahly's president Saleh Selim at Zamalek's headquarters in 1980

After Zamalek won the 1993 African Cup of Champions Clubs and Al Ahly won the 1993 African Cup Winners' Cup. The CAF Super Cup presented the first continental match between two Egyptian clubs. The match took place on 16 January 1994, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. Zamalek won by a score of 1–0, goal was scored by Ayman Mansour. Zamalek won the 1994 CAF Super Cup for the first time for an Egyptian team and in the 2nd edition of the new tournament.[citation needed]

Non-Egyptian referees are often flown in to officiate the derby to ensure impartiality. In 2008, World Soccer Magazine selected the Cairo Derby as the 10th most fierce derby in the world. Besides the estimated 50 million domestic TV audience, the game is huge all over North Africa, the Middle East and the entire world. On 24 February 2020, Zamalek forfeited a league match against Al Ahly, a few days after their match at the 2019–20 Egyptian Super Cup.

On 5 November 2020, Zamalek overcame Raja Casablanca 4–1 in the second leg of the 2019–20 CAF Champions League semi-finals, and set up the historic final with Al-Ahly, marking the first time ever in their history that the two clubs faced each other in the final of an international competition. The single-leg final was played on 27 November 2020, and Al-Ahly won the match 2–1, earning a competition record ninth Champions League title.

The Meetings

Key

Colors

SeasonHome teamResultAway team
League These are the meetings in the Egyptian Premier League Season Home team Result Away team 1948–49 Zamalek 2–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–1 Zamalek 1949–50 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 1950–51 Zamalek 0–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 3–0 Zamalek 1951–52 No matches due to Egyptian Revolution of 1952 1952–53 Zamalek 2–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 1953–54 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 4–2 Zamalek 1954–55 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 1955–56 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek 1956–57 Zamalek 0–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek 1957–58 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 3–1 Zamalek 1958–59 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 1959–60 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek 1960–61 Zamalek 1–4 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–3 Zamalek 1961–62 Zamalek 0–3 Al Ahly Al Ahly 3–0 Zamalek 1962–63 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly No away match due to one leg championship play-off 1963–64 No matches because they were in separate groups in the League 1964–65 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek 1965–66 Zamalek 2–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek 1966–67 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–1 Zamalek 1967–68 No matches due to Six-Day War & War of Attrition 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly No away match due to crowd violence in the first match 1972–73 Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly 1973–74 No matches due to October War 1974–75 Zamalek 1–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 1975–76 No matches because they were in separate groups in the League 1976–77 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek 1977–78 Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 1978–79 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek 1979–80 Zamalek 1–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 1980–81 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–2 Zamalek 1981–82 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek 1982–83 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–0 Zamalek 1983–84 Zamalek 2–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–1 Zamalek 1984–85 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–0 Zamalek 1985–86 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek 1986–87 Zamalek 1–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek 1987–88 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek 1988–89 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–0 Zamalek 1989–90 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly No away match due to 1990 World Cup preparations 1990–91 Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–2 Zamalek 1991–92 Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–1 Zamalek 1992–93 Zamalek 1–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–1 Zamalek 1993–94 Zamalek 0–3 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–2 Zamalek 1994–95 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 1995–96 Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly 1996–97 Zamalek 1–3 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 1997–98 Zamalek 0–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 1998–99 Zamalek 1–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 1999–2000 Al Ahly 1–2 Zamalek Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly 2000–01 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–3 Zamalek 2001–02 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 6–1 Zamalek 2002–03 Zamalek 3–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek 2003–04 Al Ahly 1–2 Zamalek Zamalek 1–0 Al Ahly 2004–05 Zamalek 2–4 Al Ahly Al Ahly 3–0 Zamalek 2005–06 Zamalek 0–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 2006–07 Zamalek 1–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–2 Zamalek 2007–08 Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 2008–09 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–0 Zamalek 2009–10 Zamalek 3–3 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 2010–11 Zamalek 2–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 0–0 Zamalek 2011–12 No matches due to Port Said Stadium riot 2012–13 No matches due to June 2013 Egyptian protests 2013–14 Zamalek 0–1 Al Ahly No away match due to one leg championship play-off 2014–15 Zamalek 1–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 2015–16 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 2016–17 Zamalek 0–2 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 2017–18 Zamalek 0–3 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–2 Zamalek 2018–19 Zamalek 0–0 Al Ahly Al Ahly 1–0 Zamalek 2019–20 Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek Zamalek 3–1 Al Ahly 2020–21 Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek 2021–22 Zamalek 3–5 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–2 Zamalek 2022–23 Zamalek 0–3 Al Ahly Al Ahly 4–1 Zamalek 2023–24 Zamalek 2–1 Al Ahly Al Ahly 2–0 Zamalek 2024–25 Al Ahly 1–1 Zamalek Zamalek 3–0 Al Ahly 2025–26 Al Ahly 2–1 Zamalek Zamalek Al Ahly
1948–49Zamalek2–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–1Zamalek
1949–50Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
1950–51Zamalek0–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly3–0Zamalek
1951–52No matches due to Egyptian Revolution of 1952
1952–53Zamalek2–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
1953–54Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly4–2Zamalek
1954–55Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
1955–56Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–2Zamalek
1956–57Zamalek0–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
1957–58Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly3–1Zamalek
1958–59Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
1959–60Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–1Zamalek
1960–61Zamalek1–4Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–3Zamalek
1961–62Zamalek0–3Al Ahly
Al Ahly3–0Zamalek
1962–63Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
No away match due to one leg championship play-off
1963–64No matches because they were in separate groups in the League
1964–65Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–2Zamalek
1965–66Zamalek2–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–2Zamalek
1966–67Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–1Zamalek
1967–68No matches due to Six-Day War & War of Attrition
1968–69
1969–70
1970–71
1971–72Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
No away match due to crowd violence in the first match
1972–73Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
Zamalek0–1Al Ahly
1973–74No matches due to October War
1974–75Zamalek1–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
1975–76No matches because they were in separate groups in the League
1976–77Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–1Zamalek
1977–78Zamalek0–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
1978–79Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
1979–80Zamalek1–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
1980–81Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–2Zamalek
1981–82Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
1982–83Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–0Zamalek
1983–84Zamalek2–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–1Zamalek
1984–85Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–0Zamalek
1985–86Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–2Zamalek
1986–87Zamalek1–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–1Zamalek
1987–88Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
1988–89Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–0Zamalek
1989–90Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
No away match due to 1990 World Cup preparations
1990–91Zamalek0–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–2Zamalek
1991–92Zamalek0–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–1Zamalek
1992–93Zamalek1–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–1Zamalek
1993–94Zamalek0–3Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–2Zamalek
1994–95Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
1995–96Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
1996–97Zamalek1–3Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
1997–98Zamalek0–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
1998–99Zamalek1–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
1999–2000Al Ahly1–2Zamalek
Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
2000–01Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–3Zamalek
2001–02Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly6–1Zamalek
2002–03Zamalek3–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–2Zamalek
2003–04Al Ahly1–2Zamalek
Zamalek1–0Al Ahly
2004–05Zamalek2–4Al Ahly
Al Ahly3–0Zamalek
2005–06Zamalek0–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
2006–07Zamalek1–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–2Zamalek
2007–08Zamalek0–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2008–09Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–0Zamalek
2009–10Zamalek3–3Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
2010–11Zamalek2–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly0–0Zamalek
2011–12No matches due to Port Said Stadium riot
2012–13No matches due to June 2013 Egyptian protests
2013–14Zamalek0–1Al Ahly
No away match due to one leg championship play-off
2014–15Zamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2015–16Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2016–17Zamalek0–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2017–18Zamalek0–3Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–2Zamalek
2018–19Zamalek0–0Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–0Zamalek
2019–20Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
Zamalek3–1Al Ahly
2020–21Al Ahly2–1Zamalek
Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
2021–22Zamalek3–5Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–2Zamalek
2022–23Zamalek0–3Al Ahly
Al Ahly4–1Zamalek
2023–24Zamalek2–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2024–25Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
Zamalek3–0Al Ahly
2025–26Al Ahly2–1Zamalek
ZamalekAl Ahly
Al Ahly winsDrawsZamalek wins
515129

Egypt Cup

These are the meetings in the Egypt Cup

SeasonRoundHome teamScoreAway team
1927–28FinalZamalek0–1Al Ahly
1928–29Quarter FinalZamalek0–1Al Ahly
1930–31FinalZamalek1–4Al Ahly
1931–32FinalZamalek2–1Al Ahly
1932–33Semi-FinalAl Ahly3–1Zamalek
1933–34Semi-FinalZamalek3–0Al Ahly
1934–35FinalZamalek3–0Al Ahly
1936–37Quarter FinalZamalek1–1Al Ahly
Quarter Final ReplayZamalek2–2Al Ahly
Quarter Final ReplayZamalek0–5Al Ahly
1937–38FinalZamalek1–1Al Ahly
Final ReplayZamalek1–0Al Ahly
1941–42FinalAl Ahly3–0Zamalek
1943–44FinalZamalek6–0Al Ahly
1947–48Semi-FinalAl Ahly1–2Zamalek
1948–49FinalZamalek1–3Al Ahly
1951–52FinalZamalek2–0Al Ahly
1952–53FinalAl Ahly4–1Zamalek
1957–58FinalZamalek0–0Al Ahly
Final ReplayAl Ahly2–2Zamalek
1958–59FinalZamalek2–1Al Ahly
1977–78FinalAl Ahly4–2Zamalek
1984–85Quarter FinalAl Ahly3–2Zamalek
1988–89Quarter FinalAl Ahly2–1Zamalek
1990–91Semi-FinalAl Ahly2–0Zamalek
1991–92FinalAl Ahly2–1Zamalek
2005–06FinalAl Ahly3–0Zamalek
2006–07FinalAl Ahly4–3Zamalek
2009–10Round of 16Al Ahly3–1Zamalek
2014–15FinalZamalek2–0Al Ahly
2015–16FinalZamalek3–1Al Ahly
2020–21FinalZamalek2–1Al Ahly
2022–23FinalAl Ahly2–0Zamalek
Al Ahly winsDrawsZamalek wins
17511

Egyptian Super Cup

Zamalek against Al Ahly in the 2015–16 Egyptian Super Cup

These are the meetings in the Egyptian Super Cup

DateHome teamScoreAway team
2003–04Al Ahly0–0 (3–1 p)Zamalek
2008–09Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2014–15Al Ahly0–0 (5–4 p)Zamalek
2015–16Zamalek2–3Al Ahly
2016–17Al Ahly0–0 (1–3 p)Zamalek
2018–19Al Ahly3–2Zamalek
2019–20Al Ahly0–0 (3–4 p)Zamalek
2021–22Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2024–25Al Ahly0–0 (7–6 p)Zamalek
2025–26Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
Al Ahly winsDrawsZamalek wins
550

CAF Champions League

These are the meetings in the CAF Champions league

SeasonRoundHome teamScoreAway team
2004–05Semi-FinalZamalek1–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly2–0Zamalek
2007–08Group stageAl Ahly2–1Zamalek
Al Ahly2–2Zamalek
2011–12Group stageZamalek0–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly1–1Zamalek
2012–13Group stageZamalek1–1Al Ahly
Al Ahly4–2Zamalek
2019–20FinalZamalek1–2Al Ahly
Al Ahly winsDrawsZamalek wins
630

CAF Super Cup

There are two meetings in the CAF Super Cup

SeasonRoundHome teamScoreAway team
1994FinalZamalek1–0Al Ahly
2024FinalAl Ahly1–1 (3–4 p)Zamalek
Al Ahly winsDrawsZamalek wins
011

African final meetings

African Super of the 20th Century

The first African encounter between the two Egyptian rivals took place after Zamalek won the 1993 African Cup of Champions Clubs and Al Ahly won the 1993 African Cup Winners' Cup. The CAF Super Cup presented the first encounter between the two rivals in a continental match. Zamalek were the last Egyptian League winners and Ahly were the last winners of the Egypt Cup as well. The match was highly anticipated and publicized in Africa. It took place on 16 January 1994, at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa, as a neutral stadium. In the 86th minute, Ayman Mansour scored Zamalek's winning goal after firing a shot from 25 yards to the right corner of the net and past Ahmed Shobair. Zamalek won the CAF Super Cup for the first time for an Egyptian team and in the 2nd edition of the new tournament.

African final of the Century

On 27 November 2020, Al Ahly and Zamalek for the first time faced off each other in the CAF Champions League final. This match is known as the African Game of the Century as the 2 greatest clubs of Africa were facing off each other for the Champions League trophy. The match was played behind closed doors of the Cairo International Stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has spread around the globe rapidly. El Solia scored the first goal of the match and for Al Ahly on the 5th minute with a header while Shikabala equalized for Zamalek on the 31st minute. after 85 minutes and 45 seconds onto the game, Afsha got the winning goal for Al Ahly, controlling the ball on his knee outside the penalty area after a clearance, before volleying to the right corner of the net and past Gabaski. Al Ahly for the first time since 2013 and for the 9th in total lifted the CAF Champions League trophy, Momen Zakaria who was forced to retire from his football career due to suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis got the chance to lift the cup for Al Ahly. Al Ahly were able to defend their title in 2021 hence lifted its 10th CAF Champions League trophy.After two years, Al Ahly managed to win its 11th CAF Champions League in 2023 and were able to defend their title in 2024 to lift its 12th CAF Champions League. On the other hand Zamalek failed to qualify from the group stage in the following three tournaments 2021 tournament , 2022 tournament , 2023 tournament and failed to qualify to 2024 tournament , 2025 tournament and 2026 tournament after being third in the league ranking.

African Super of the Century

On 27 September 2024, Zamalek and Al Ahly met for the second time in a CAF Super Cup final and a third time in a continental final encounter between the two greatest Egyptian teams. The first time was on 16 January 1994 in the 1994 CAF Super Cup which Zamalek won. This match is known as The Super of the Century, as the two greatest clubs of Africa were facing off each other for the continental title. The match was to take place between Al Ahly, the CAF Champions League winners against Zamalek, the title holders of the CAF Confederation Cup on Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Al Ahly scored the first goal in the first half by Wessam Abou Ali from a penalty kick on the 44th minute, a penalty kick decision which resulted of arguments from Zamalek players. In the second half and from the first touch, the 76th-minute substitute Nasser Mansi equalized for Zamalek on the 77th minute. After a dramatic penalty shootout, Zamalek won the match by a score of 4–3 on penalties. This match was considered a revenge for the 2020 CAF Champions League final which Al Ahly won. It was Zamalek's fifth title and the second time beating Al Ahly with 30 years in between the two Super Cup finals in two different centuries.

Statistics

Matches summary

As of match played 9 November 2025

MatchesWinsDraws
Al AhlyZamalek
Egyptian Premier League131512951
Egypt Cup3317115
Egyptian Super Cup10505
Sultan Hussein Cup6132
Cairo League4221912
CAF Champions League9603
CAF Super Cup2011
All competitions2331015379
Exhibition games241194
All matches2571126283
Results of Al Ahly and Zamalek in the 21st century
SeasonASCZSC
2000–0121
2001–0223
2002–0321
2003–0421
2004–0516
2005–0612
2006–0712
2007–0812
2008–0916
2009–1012
2010–1112
2012–1313
2013–1413
2014–1521
2015–1612
2016–1712
2017–1814
2018–1912
2019–2012
2020–2121
2021–2231
2022–2313
2023–2413
2024–2513
League champions176
Top three2419
League champions Egypt Cup League/Cup double

Records

Results

Biggest wins (5+ goals)

Winning marginResultDateCompetition
6Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly2 January 1942Cairo League
Zamalek 6–0 Al Ahly2 June 1944Egypt Cup
5Al Ahly 5–0 Zamalek30 May 1937
Al Ahly 6–1 Zamalek16 May 2002Egyptian Premier League

Players

Top scorers

Abdel-Karim Sakr is the all-time top scorer in Cairo derby history with 19 goals.
PlayerClubGoals
Egypt Abdel-Karim SakrZamalek (10) Al Ahly (9)19
Egypt Mostafa TahaZamalek (12) Al Ahly (3)15
Egypt Mohamed AboutrikaAl Ahly13
Egypt Mokhtar El TetshAl Ahly13
Egypt Ahmed MekkawiAl Ahly11
Egypt Labib MahmoudAl Ahly (8) Zamalek (2)10
Egypt Emad MoteabAl Ahly10
Egypt El-Sayed Ateya "Toto"Al Ahly10
Egypt Alaa El-HamoulyZamalek9
Egypt El-Sayed El-DhizuiAl Ahly9
Egypt Hossam HassanAl Ahly (5) Zamalek (4)9
Egypt Gamal HamzaZamalek8

Hat-tricks

#PlayerForScoreDateCompetition
1.Egypt Mokhtar El TetshAl Ahly4–028 November 1930Cairo League
2.Egypt Abdel-Karim SakrAl Ahly5–030 May 1937Egypt Cup
4.Egypt ZoklotZamalek6–02 June 1944
4.Egypt El Sayed Ateya "Toto"Al Ahly4–226 March 1953Egyptian Premier League
5.Egypt Khaled BeboAl Ahly6–116 May 2002

Honours

As of 9 November 2025

  • Numbers with this background denote the competition record.
Al AhlyCompetitionZamalek
Domestic
45Egyptian Premier League14
39Egypt Cup29
16Egyptian Super Cup4
7Sultan Hussein Cup (defunct)2
16Cairo League (defunct)14
0Egyptian Friendship Cup (defunct)1
1United Arab Republic Cup (defunct)0
0October League Cup (defunct)1
1Egyptian Confederation Cup (defunct)1
125Aggregate66
African and Worldwide
12CAF Champions League5
1CAF Confederation Cup2
8CAF Super Cup5
1FIFA African-Asian-Pacific Cup0
1Afro-Asian Club Championship (defunct)2
4African Cup Winners' Cup (defunct)1
27Aggregate15
UAFA and Regional competitions
1Arab Club Champions Cup1
0Saudi-Egyptian Super Cup2
1Arab Cup Winners' Cup (defunct)0
2Arab Super Cup (defunct)0
4Aggregate3
156Total Aggregate84

Players and Managers who have played for or managed both clubs

Below are the players and managers who played for or managed both clubs

Al Ahly then Zamalek

NamePositionAl AhlyZamalek
CareerCareer
Egypt Hussein HegaziFW1915–19 1924–281919–24 1928–31
Egypt El-Sayed AbazaFW1915–20 1923–281920–23 1928–30
Egypt Abdel-Karim SakrFW1935–391939–53
Egypt Gamal Abdel-HamidFW1977–821983–93
Egypt Ayman ShawkyFW1984–941995–96
Egypt Mohamed Abdel-GalilMF1988–951995–97
Egypt Hossam HassanFW1985–992000–04
Egypt Ibrahim HassanDF1985–992000–04
Ghana Felix AboagyeFW1993–982001–02
Egypt Ibrahim SaidDF1998–032004–06
Egypt Sherif AshrafFW2005–072008–09
Egypt Mohamed AbdullahDF2005–072008–09
Egypt Hassan MostafaMF2003–092009–11
Qatar Hussein YasserMF2008–102010–11
Egypt Essam El HadaryGK1996–082010–11
Egypt Ahmed HassanMF2008–112011–13
Mauritania Dominique Da SylvaFW2011–132014
Egypt Abdallah El-SaidMF2011–182024–
Egypt Nasser MaherMF2014–212024–
Egypt Ahmed HamdiMF2015–192024–
NameAl AhlyZamalek
CareerCareer
Egypt Mahmoud El-Gohary1982–84 1985–861993–94
Germany Reiner Hollmann1995–972008
France Patrice Carteron20182019–20 2021–22
Portugal Jose Peseiro2015–162025

Zamalek then Al Ahly

NamePositionZamalekAl Ahly
CareerCareer
Egypt Ali El-HassaniFW1914–23 1927–29 1931–341924–27 1929–31
Egypt Labib MahmoudFW1923–31 1940–411931–40
Egypt Reda Abdel AalMF1987–931993–98
Egypt Magdy TolbaMF1983–891995–98
Egypt Islam El-ShaterDF2003–042004–08
Egypt Nader El-SayedGK1992–982005–06
Egypt Mohamed SedikDF2002–062006–07
Egypt Tarek El-SaidMF1998–062006–08
Egypt Moataz EnoMF2002–072007–12
Egypt Hany El AgazyFW2003–072008–11
Egypt Gamal HamzaFW1999–092010–11
Egypt Sabry RaheelDF2009–132013–19
Egypt Moamen ZakariaMF2013–142015–19
Egypt Ahmed HamoudiFW2015–162017–19
Egypt Yasser IbrahimDF2013–162019–
Egypt KahrabaFW2015–192020–25
Egypt Emam AshourMF2019–232023–
Morocco Achraf BencharkiFW2019–222025–
Egypt ZizoFW2019–252025–

External links

  • , Reuters
  • , FIFA official website
  • , FIFA official website
  • (in Arabic)