Al Ahly end 45-year wait for African women’s handball title

Al Ahly’s women’s handball team won the African Champions League for only the second time in the club’s history after beating Angola’s 1o de Agosto 21-20 in the final.

The triumph, secured in Angola, was Al Ahly’s first continental title since 1979 and made them the first non-Angolan side to win the competition since 1996.

Shahed El-Shawarby said the victory had a special significance after Al Ahly defeated two Angolan teams on their way to the title.

“We were confident in ourselves, especially after the previous edition in Morocco,” El-Shawarby told FilGaol.com. “We had shown that the gap with the Angolan teams was very small after benefiting from our continued participation in recent years.”

She said Al Ahly arrived at the tournament determined to win the trophy rather than settle for a medal.

“Our target this season was to win the title, not just a medal as it had been at the beginning,” she added. “Even after losing to 1o de Agosto in the group stage and moving into the more difficult path, we did not give up on our dream of winning the title.”

Al Ahly also beat Petro Atletico, the competition’s most successful club, 27-24 in the semi-final. They had lost 30-22 to 1o de Agosto in the group stage.

El-Shawarby revealed that the final came after a demanding schedule, with Al Ahly facing two Angolan sides on successive days.

“We played two matches against Angolan teams on two consecutive days and it was extremely tiring for us,” she said. “But we put all our energy into the final to win the title and achieve this historic feat, whatever it cost us.”

She credited the coaching staff with managing the players’ physical workload across the two matches.

“The technical staff succeeded in dividing the physical load between the two games to preserve the team’s performance,” she said.

Al Ahly competed without foreign players, a decision El-Shawarby described as an additional challenge for a squad built around the club’s own players.

“Entering the tournament without professionals was a bigger challenge for us. The bet was on the club’s own players to achieve this historic accomplishment,” she said.

Despite trailing by three goals against 1o de Agosto in the final, El-Shawarby said she never doubted Al Ahly would complete the comeback.

“I had complete confidence that we would win the title and did not doubt for even 1% that we would lose,” she said.

She also said criticism after defeats in previous African campaigns had helped motivate the team.

“I believe we were the club’s most criticised team recently, but that is natural for me as long as the criticism is constructive,” she said. “The fans always look for victories and that is their right. It became an even greater incentive for us to gain enough experience to achieve our accomplishment, which is what happened in the end.”

El-Shawarby thanked Al Ahly’s board for insisting the team take part despite calls for them not to travel, as well as head coach Mohamed Adel (Zola) and the club’s supporters.

The success means Al Ahly hold the men’s and women’s African Champions League titles simultaneously for the first time.