Al Ahly’s football first team delegation in Abu Dhabi, headed by Khaled Mortagy, shared with the organizing committee of the FIFA Club World Cup (FCWC) the club’s concerns regarding the organization of the competition on Friday.

During the pre-match technical meeting of our bronze medal game of the competition against Al Hilal of Saudi Arabia, Mortagy was keen to raise the following club concerns to the organizing committee of the tournament:

1. The tournament’s knock-out system gives an advantage to the champions of South America and Europe, as both teams start playing in the competition from the semi-finals. While, the champions of the rest of the other continents have to compete in an earlier stage of the competition.

2. The clash of dates between the FIFA Club World Cup and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations caused Al Ahly to miss 9 players at the start of the competition.

3. The yellow cards which our players receive early on the competition affects their participation in the later stages of the tournament. While, the champions of South America and Europe get to play with their full squads due to the fact that they start playing in the competition from the semi-finals. 

4. The appointment of referees and their performances in some of the games of the competition is the final point of concern to our club.