Zamalek To Boycott African Super Cup

Egyptian club Zamalek will not play African Super Cup clash against Esperance of Tunisia next year in Qatar, the club president Mortada Mansour declared on Tuesday.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced last Thursday that the Confederation Cup winners Zamalek will take on Champions League title holders Esperance de Tunis in Doha, the capital of Qatar on February 14.

In a press conference, Mansour said his team would not travel to Qatar due to the political tensions between Qatar and Egypt, which have been in place since 2017.

“We are two African teams, why should we play in Asia?” he wondered.

“I don’t understand why CAF wants to play the Super Cup in a country who is an enemy to Egypt.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “Zamalek board members discussed the issue and decided not to play in Qatar. I am disappointed that Esperance have agreed to play there.”   [/perfectpullquote]

CAF signed an agreement with Qatar to host the Super Cup game for three years, starting from last season.

Zamalek are now likely to face CAF wrath, which may see the club being relegated to the third division of Egyptian football, if they refuse to play the Super Cup game.

“If we are hit by any sanctions from the CAF, we will head to the Court of Arbitration for Sport,” Mansour said.

Recently, Mansour stated that his club is considering opting out of Africa’s premier club competition, which prize money is $5 million (R75m) less than the Arab Club Champions Cup.

“Even if CAF decides to exclude us from all African competitions, I’ll participate in the Arab Club Championship, which is better.”