Al Ahly swept past Uganda’s Kitara FC with a resounding 4-0 victory to book their spot in the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup, regaining their winning touch following their recent setback in the Egyptian Premier League.
The victory at Cairo International Stadium on Sunday evening, in the second leg of the round of 32, provided Houcine Ammouta’s side with a vital boost ahead of their return to domestic action, coming as a convincing response needed to ease the aftermath of the El Qanah match.
Hussein El Shahat scored twice in the 37th and 51st minutes, while Mohamed Magdy Afsha added the second goal in the 44th minute, before Taher Mohamed Taher wrapped up the four-goal display in the 68th minute. Al Ahly sealed their qualification 6-1 on aggregate, following their 2-1 first-leg win in Uganda.
The win gained added significance after the Red Devils drew 3-3 against El Qanah in the seventh round of the league, dropping two points in their chase of leaders Pyramids FC. Al Ahly currently sits second with 17 points, four points behind the leaders, making this four-goal clean-sheet victory a timely response ahead of resuming the title race.
Qualified Teams for the Confederation Cup Group Stage
The number of teams securing group stage qualification reached 14 out of 16, led by five Arab clubs: Egypt’s Al Ahly, Algeria’s USM Alger, Morocco’s Raja CA, Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien, and Libya’s Ahly Tripoli.
The list of qualified teams also includes Azam FC and Singida Black Stars from Tanzania, Red Arrows from Zambia, Primeiro de Agosto from Angola, Black Bulls from Mozambique, Real Bamako from Mali, Maniema Union from DR Congo, Durban City from South Africa, and ASKO Kara from Togo.
Two spots remain undecided from the ties featuring Morocco’s FAR Rabat against Ivory Coast’s CO Korhogo, and Algeria’s CR Belouizdad against Mauritania’s Douanes. Al Ahly stands as Egypt’s sole representative in the group stage after ZED FC exited the tournament following a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Azam FC.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) officially confirmed that the group stage draw will take place on Wednesday, October 28, at 2:00 PM Cairo time, at the headquarters of the Egyptian Football Association. The qualified teams will be drawn into four groups of four teams each, with group stage action kicking off in November.
Domestically, Al Ahly returns to league duty against Modern Sport on Thursday, October 29, in the eighth round, before hosting Pyramids FC on Monday, November 23, in the ninth round—a direct showdown against the league leaders, underscoring the importance of capitalizing on their continental qualification momentum to avoid dropping further points before then.
