Al Ahly set to protest FIFA Club World Cup dates

by Staff Reporter

Wednesday Dec 01, 2021. 13:00

Egyptian football powerhouse Al Ahly have announced that they will protest dates for the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup finals.

The global tournament is set to be played at the same time as the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations finals which will be hosted by Cameroon between January 9 to February 6.

On the other hand, the Club World Cup will be held from February 3 to 12, 2022, in the United Arab Emirates with Al Ahly having qualified for the tournament after winning the 2020/21 CAF Champions League title.

Some of Al Ahly’s Egyptian players are expected to be included in the Pharaohs squad for the AFCON finals, while Tunisian full-back Ali Maaloul and Malian midfielder Aliou Dieng are most likely to represent their countries at the tournament.

Al Ahly, who are under the guidance of accomplished South African coach Pitso Mosimane, released the following statement:

“Al Ahly SC will send official letters on Tuesday to the Egyptian Football Association, CAF, and FIFA, requesting the three parties to collaborate to resolve the clash of dates between the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup,” a club statement read.

“The FIFA Club World Cup will be held in the UAE between 3 and 12 February which clashes with the dates of the Africa Cup of Nations, which will be held between 9 January and 6 February in Cameroon.

“Al Ahly SC have more than seven players in the Egyptian national team’s squad in addition to three foreign players who will represent their national teams in the competition, which will impact our participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.”

Al Ahly also took part in the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup finals and they clinched bronze during the tournament which was staged in Qatar.