The Egyptian Football Association announced on Wednesday major Cairo rivals Al Ahly and Zamalek will contest the Egyptian Super Cup in the UAE on October 15, in a release translated by The National.
The release did not specify where or at what time the match would be played, but it is expected the match will be played at the Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
The release announced that the Egyptian national team would play friendlies against Senegal and Zambia at unspecified dates in the Emirates as well. A fixture list for the Egyptian national team on Fifa's website indicates they will play Zambia on October 11.
Al Ahly and Zamalek are very popular clubs in Egypt, and contest for the major titles most years. Ahly, with 37 league titles, are the dominant club force both in the country and on the African continent, where they have won the African Champions League a record eight times.
Last season, though, they were edged to the domestic title by their fierce local rivals Zamalek, who finished eight points ahead, for the first time since 2003/04. That was followed by a 2-0 victory for Zamalek in the Egypt Cup final on September 21, giving them the domestic double over Ahly, their first since 1987/88.
Al Ahly and Zamalek played a goalless draw in the 2014 Super Cup at Cairo International Stadium, with Alhy lifting the silverware 5-4 on penalties. Since the first playing of the match in 2001, Ahly have won it eight times and Zamalek twice. Ahly have won all three direct meetings (2003, ‘08, ‘14) of the clubs in the Super Cup.
The 2015/16 Egyptian Premier League season is scheduled to begin October 17, after the 2014/15 season ended only on August 3. The schedule in Egyptian football has been crunched ever since the Port Said Stadium disaster and uprising against Hosni Mubarak cancelled the finale of the 2011/12 season and the fall of Mohamed Morsi upended play in the 2012/13 season.
The match taking place in the UAE will give both clubs the chance for a rare match in front of fans, with most domestic matches played behind closed doors.
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