Al Ahly face Raja Casablanca as African group stage delivers heavyweight clash

Al Ahly have been drawn alongside Raja Casablanca in a major north African meeting in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage.

The tie brings together two of African football’s most prominent clubs, each backed by a large support, and rekindles a rivalry shaped by years of closely contested matches. Their meetings have often carried significance beyond the points at stake, whether in knockout rounds or in battles for continental honours.

The quality and competitive balance between the sides is expected to give the fixture an added edge. Previous encounters between Al Ahly and Raja Casablanca have regularly produced tense and entertaining contests, with neither side able to take the other lightly.

The latest meeting also recalls a series of decisive clashes in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Super Cup. The clubs have faced one another several times in recent years, including two Champions League quarter-finals in 2022 and 2023.

Al Ahly had the final say in both of those quarter-final ties. They had also defeated Raja Casablanca in the 2021 CAF Super Cup, winning 7-6 on penalties after the match finished 1-1.

Their rivalry dates back further, including a dramatic final in the 1996 Arab Club Champions Cup in Cairo. Al Ahly won that match 3-1.

Those past results, however, do not lessen the challenge facing Al Ahly in the next chapter of the rivalry. The group-stage meeting offers both teams a fresh opportunity to underline their ambitions and progress in the competition.

According to Transfermarkt data, Al Ahly and Raja Casablanca have played 11 African matches against one another. Al Ahly have won four, Raja Casablanca have won two and the other five ended in draws. Al Ahly have scored 13 goals in those fixtures, compared with 11 for Raja Casablanca.

The importance of the encounter is heightened by the make-up of the group. Alongside Al Ahly and Raja Casablanca are Togo’s ASKO Kara and Angola’s Primeiro de Agosto.

With only the leading teams able to advance, every point could prove significant in the qualification race. The two north African clubs therefore enter the fixture with little room for an easy assumption about the outcome, despite Al Ahly’s stronger historical record in their previous continental meetings.