Al Ahly football company doubles sponsorship income to 4-5bn Egyptian pounds

Al Ahly’s football company has agreed sponsorship deals worth 4-5bn Egyptian pounds for the period from 2026 to 2030, more than double the club’s previous income from sponsorship.

Ayman Fathy Hussein, who has chaired Al Ahly’s football company since 2024, said the new agreements with 16 companies would generate significantly greater returns than the 1.5bn Egyptian pounds secured during the previous four years.

Speaking to Al Nahar channel, Hussein explained that the company was not responsible for player salaries, travel costs or other expenses within Al Ahly’s football budget.

“The football company is responsible for sponsorship contracts and the players’ image rights for advertising and commercial purposes,” he said.

Al Ahly owns its trademark and the commercial rights relating to its players, which it sells to the football company. The company then seeks to market those rights at a profit.

“The aim of the football company is to double the economic resources that ultimately benefit Al Ahly,” Hussein said.

He added that Al Ahly president Mahmoud El Khatib did not interfere in the company’s work. A three-year business plan was presented and approved at the beginning of the company’s operation, he said.

Although Al Ahly experienced a poor season last year, Hussein said the impact on the club had been limited by its history, support and continued position at the top of Egyptian football. He acknowledged that sporting performances and trophies increase the football company’s income, while another absence from the CAF Champions League could affect sponsorship revenue.

Revenue and taxation

Hussein said Al Ahly relied on three or four main sources of income. Ticket sales were not currently generating a profit because of low attendances, unlike the situation outside Egypt, while sponsorship and television broadcasting contracts remained important revenue streams.

The club also operates 12 academies in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Canada, providing football training for children. Hussein said the academies had been established in countries with significant Egyptian communities abroad and generated income for Al Ahly.

He said a team led by young staff studied the details of each commercial opportunity to secure the best possible returns.

The company paid up to 250m Egyptian pounds in tax during the past two years, Hussein said. That figure included value added tax, tax on the football company’s income and tax linked to the players’ commercial rights.

He also said no individual had donated money to Al Ahly since 2024 because donations were not a sustainable source of funding. The club, he added, generated a financial surplus and did not need such assistance.

Hussein said Al Ahly players’ contracts were “100% valid”, with each player holding one contract with the club and another with the football company covering commercial rights.

Regarding Ahmed Sayed “Zizo”, he said the player was subject to Egypt’s highest tax bracket of 27.5% because of the nature of his commercial-rights agreement. A video announcing Zizo’s signing received 100 million views and generated income for the club.

The company is working towards listing shares on the stock exchange, but Hussein said that remained some way off and was unlikely in the coming years. Al Ahly currently owns 100% of the company and would sell only a small percentage if shares were eventually offered.

Yassin Mansour and Sayed Abdel Hafiz currently oversee the football team. A salary cap has been introduced, although the football company has no role in setting player wages. The cap would only be exceeded through player bonuses, Hussein said.