Egypt Cup

The Egypt Cup is the oldest tournament in the history of Egyptian football that is still being held to-date, and it is the first competition to be organized by the Egyptian Football Association. However, it is not the first football tournament to be held in the country. The first local football tournament in Egypt was the Sultan Hussein Cup.

It was launched in 1917, and its last edition was held in the 1937-38 season. The Sultan Hussein Cup witnessed the participation of Egyptian clubs with clubs belonging to the British army, which was present in Egypt at the time. With the establishment of the Egyptian Football Association in 1921, the need arose to launch a tournament with only Egyptian clubs participating, and from this time the Egypt Cup tournament emerged with the participation of Zamalek, Al Ahly, Tersana, Olympic, Schools team, Railway, Al-Abbasiya, Al Ittihad, Al-Haditha, and the Nile.

Zamalek achieved the title of the first edition of the Egypt Cup, after defeating Al Ittihad; 5-0 in the 1922 final match. Tersana won the second edition in 1923, followed by Al Ahly in 1924. The first Cairo derby between Zamalek and Al Ahly to be played in the final was in the 1928 edition which Al Ahly won by a score of 1–0, winning goal scored by Mamdouh Sakr. The 1930–31 edition saw Al Ahly winning Zamalek in the final by a score of 4–1. The next year in the 1932 final between Zamalek and Al Ahly, Zamalek retaliated and defeated Al Ahly by a score of 2–1, winners goals were scored by Ismail Raafat, Said El-Hadary and Amin Shoeir scored for Al Ahly. In the 1934–35 edition, the final was held on 10 May 1935. The match was again contested by Zamalek and Al Ahly, with Zamalek won 3–0, goals were scored by Helmy Zamora, El-Samkary and Marei.

The biggest win in the 1944 final match between the Cairo giants; Zamalek and Al Ahly with a 6-0 win for Zamalek. This was the second Cairo Derby in two years to end with a 6-0 win for Zamalek after the 1941–42 Cairo League match. After this huge score for Zamalek, Al Ahly won three consecutive titles in (1945, 1946, 1947), however, they didn't meet Zamalek in the final.

Zamalek dominated the 1950s, as the Cairo giants won seven titles from 1952 to 1962, with four consecutive titles in (1957, 1958 (title shared with Al Ahly), 1959, 1960). In 1958, and 1959, Zamalek claimed their title from Al Ahly, who won the 1961 title after winning El Qanah 5–0 in the final, the next year, Zamalek also claimed their title by winning Al Ittihad by a score of 5–1 in the final.

From 1962 to 1976, Zamalek and Al Ahly only won one title each, as El Qanah, Tersana and Al Ittihad dominated this era. However, Zamalek won the 1975, 1977, and 1979 titles, with Al Ahly claiming their title from their rivals in the 1978 final. In the early 1980s, Al Ahly dominated the championship, they won the 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Followed by the final and sixth title for Tersana in 1986, before Zamalek winning their 18th title in the 1988 edition after nine years from their last title.

In the 1990s, the tournament saw the Cairo derby in the final for the first time in 14 years, after Al Ahly won Zamalek by a score of 2–1 in the 1992 final. This decade saw new champions, as Ismaily won their first title in the 1997 edition after defeating Al Ahly by a score of 1–0 in the final, followed by Al Masry in 1998 after defeating Al Mokawloon in the final.

Despite its launch more than 100 years ago, the Egypt Cup has witnessed the holding of 90 editions so far, and has been canceled on more than one occasion. The tournament was canceled in the 1942-43 season, after players from Zamalek and Al-Ahly (the final belligerents) were suspended after their travel to Palestine, and opposition to the Football Association’s decision in this regard.

The tournament was not played between 1967 and 1971 due to the War of Attrition, and it was canceled in the 1973-74 season due to the October War. For several other reasons, the tournament was canceled in 1979-80, 1986-87 and 1993-94 seasons, and was canceled in the 1981-82 edition due to Zamalek’s dispute with the Football Association. The cup was also canceled in the 2011-12 season after the Port Said Stadium riot in the league match between Al-Masry and Al-Ahly.