Al Ahly beat Zamalek to claim fourth straight African handball title

Mahmoud El Khatib has praised Al Ahly’s men’s handball team after their 26-25 victory over Zamalek secured a ninth African Champions League title in Angola.

The result also extended Al Ahly’s run to four consecutive African titles, following a final which was decided in the closing seconds after the teams were level at 22-22 at the end of normal time.

The match went into two periods of extra time, with goalkeeper Abdelrahman Hamid producing a decisive performance. Mohamed Hesham El Bassiouny, known as “Modi”, scored the winning goal with only five seconds remaining.

In a statement, Al Ahly president El Khatib said the handball structure at the club was “moving in the right direction”, pointing to the achievement coming only a few days after the team won bronze at the Club World Cup.

“After winning the bronze medal at the Club World Cup just a few days ago, winning the African title was fully deserved,” the statement said.

The club added that the players, alongside their technical, administrative and medical staff, had demonstrated why they deserved “great praise and recognition from everyone”.

El Khatib also commended the team’s performances and high spirit throughout the tournament, as well as their determination to win the trophy.

He said the victory reflected the considerable effort made by the players and their coaching staff, before congratulating them on what he described as a major achievement.

The Al Ahly president also congratulated the club’s supporters, praising them for backing the organisation and standing behind its sports teams on every occasion.

The success was Al Ahly’s ninth African Champions League crown and their fourth in succession. No team had previously won the title in four consecutive editions, apart from the Algerian Petroleum Complex, which achieved the feat twice between 1997 and 2000 and again from 2003 to 2006.

Al Ahly have continued their dominance of African honours during the past four seasons.

Zamalek remain the competition’s most successful club with 12 titles, although their most recent triumph came in 2019 in Cape Verde.