This year the ACL has been reaching new levels of popularity and according to the predictions, there will be 30,000 fans attending the upcoming matches with Tunisia and South Africa in Cairo. This is the 56th edition of Africa’s premier football club tournament, held by the Confederation of African Football. This championship is so important for all the African teams because the winners of the championship will then qualify for the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup, scheduled to take place in Qatar this year.
An important year for Egypt
Egypt has been dead set on making this their best year in the championship and the upcoming match between Al Ahly vs Zamalek will probably be one of the most attended sports events in the country. According to the industry professionals, around 30,000 fans will come to support each team during the championship. Despite having to compete to qualify for the ACL quarter-finals, they also have to compete with other countries, and the Egyptian team has upcoming matches with Tunisia’s Esperance and South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns.
ACL is getting more coverage this year and its prestige has also grown in the last few years. One of the indicators being the rise in the betting options for the ACL qualifiers. Sports betting is a huge part of the sports industry these days. Compared to the last couple of years, the options for those wanting to bet on the African football championship has grown radically. You can access these betting offers both online and offline and depending on your location you will have access to some of the largest betting websites where you can make a variety of bets on your favourite teams.
The teams themselves requested that they play the upcoming matches at the Cairo stadium and their request was pre-approved by the security. The decision was mostly a result of the overwhelming demand for the tickets and the fan’s commitment to supporting their favourite teams.
This sort of support means a world to both teams and it will greatly encourage them to do their best on the field, now at the Cairo International Stadium. The members of the team have all expressed the desire to do their best and deliver the results that the fans can be proud of.
Based on Zamalek’s performance over the last few weeks, they have a good chance of breaking through. Zamalek defeated previous Champions League champions Esperance 3-1 and hope to get their 6th Championship title this year. Meanwhile, Ahly, who has won the African Championship 8 times, hasn’t seen a good year since 2013 and hopes to bounce back and regain their glory this year.
The ACL right now has no one clear leader but Egypt has a good chance of winning. As we can conclude from the overwhelming support of the fans this championship means a lot for the Egyptian community and they are determined to make their support public and encourage their favourite teams to do their best.
The honour to participate in the Fifa World cup is something that all these teams could benefit from. They represent your country at Fifa is every team’s dream, even if they don’t manage to win the World Cup.
As the coverage about the championship grows and the countries get more opportunities to support their teams publicly, the level and the prestige of the championship will also grow, creating more opportunities for the entire continent. The teams will get more exposure, the stadiums could get even better and the entire football scene could become more elevated. Africa has a great love for football as a sport and this growing popularity of ACL will help build on that love and promote the sport.
The upcoming games for Egypt could really distinguish the country as one of the leaders in the championship and the fans are hoping to see the very best from both of the teams. And considering that both teams have become champions in the past it is not unlikely that this year one of the Egyptian teams will claim the championship.
