In recent days, controversy has swirled around Al Ahly Football Club regarding their alleged violation of regulations in the acquisition of Omar Kamal Abd El-Wahab, the latest addition to the prestigious club.
Abd El-Wahab officially joined Al Ahly from Modern Future, a deal that involved three players moving from the Red Devils on loan.
This has sparked recent debate as these loans have taken Al Ahly’s total to 10 players, contrary to the standard practice of loaning a maximum of seven players.
Al Ahly secured the services of Omar Kamal Abd El-Wahab for a term of three and a half years in exchange for loaning Ahmed Khaled Kpaka, Mohamed Ahmed Za’louk, and Abdel Rahman Rashdan for two and a half seasons.
This brought the total number of Al Ahly’s loans this season to 10 players, including Raafat Khalil and Mohamed Ashraf to Zed, Mostafa El Badry and Mohamed Maghreby to Smouha, Amar Hamdy to El Mokawloon, Ahmed Qandousi to Ceramica, and Mohamed Yasser with the Czech team Teplitse, in addition to the trio from Modern Future.
Examining Al Ahly’s stance on breaching regulations regarding the number of loans per season, according to the regulations set by FIFA on player loans, Article 1, Paragraph 3 of the Rules on the Status and Transfer of Players states that new loan regulations must be incorporated into the relevant provisions of the national binding regulations without modification.
FIFA’s Role in Al Ahly’s Deal with Omar Kamal Abd El-Wahab
Furthermore, Article 10, Paragraph 7 of FIFA’s Rules on the Status and Transfer of Players specifies that a specific exemption regarding the maximum number of loans applies to a particular group of players.
This exemption allows the exclusion of the maximum loan count for players loaned out before the end of the previous club season in which they reached the age of 21, provided they were trained by the club in question.
The regulations apply to Raafat Khalil, Mohamed Ahmed Za’louk, Ahmed Khaled Kpaka, and Abdel Rahman Rashdan since they are all under 21 years old.
Therefore, they are not considered within the loan limit, and Al Ahly’s position aligns with the international regulations that derive the Egyptian Football Association’s regulations regarding the number of loaned players.
It’s noteworthy that the Egyptian Football Association has a provision in its regulations concerning players loaned from one team to another, inside or outside Egypt, within the current season, stating: “A club is not allowed to loan more than 7 players during the season.”
