A file photo of players in action.

RIYADH, Sept 26: The highly anticipated clash between Egyptian football giants Al-Ahly and Zamalek will occur today at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This showdown marks another chapter in the dominance of Egyptian and Arab clubs in the African Super Cup since the competition's inception in 1993.

The African Super Cup is contested in a single match between the winners of the African Champions League and the African Cup Winners' Cup, which was later merged with the Confederation Cup under its current name.

Egyptian clubs have a stronghold on the African Super Cup, with 12 victories—Al-Ahly leading with 8 titles and Zamalek with 4. Al-Ahly has been runners-up on three occasions: losing to Zamalek in 1994 and to ES Sétif (2015) and USM Alger (2023) of Algeria, while Zamalek has only lost once, in 2001, to Ghana’s Hearts of Oak.

Beyond Al-Ahly and Zamalek, 15 other teams have won the African Super Cup. TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo leads this group with 3 titles, while Étoile du Sahel (Tunisia), Raja Casablanca (Morocco), and Enyimba (Nigeria) have each won twice. Other winners include Espérance de Tunis, Wydad Casablanca, and Africa Sports, the inaugural winner in 1993, along with Hearts of Oak, Renaissance Berkane, Maghreb de Fès, ES Sétif, USM Alger, Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, and ASEC Mimosas.

On the other side, 9 clubs have narrowly missed winning the title, including CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), Motema Pembe (DR Congo), JS Kabylie (Algeria), and Egypt’s El Mokawloon. Others such as Fath Rabat, Royal Army (Morocco), Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa), Stade Malien, and Congo’s Leopards have also come close.

Moroccan clubs trail Egyptian teams with 5 African Super Cup titles, followed by 3 titles for Tunisian and Congolese teams. However, Tunisian clubs have lost the final more than any other nation, with 10 defeats, followed by Morocco (8), Egypt (5), and the DR Congo (3). Espérance holds the record for the most losses (4), followed by Étoile du Sahel, Sfaxien, Al-Ahly, and Wydad, who have each lost 3 times. Morocco boasts the highest number of clubs to win the African Super Cup (4), while 17 teams have lifted the trophy, with 6 teams winning it more than once.

Over the years, the African Super Cup has undergone significant changes in venue and prize money. Initially, the champion received $100,000 and the runner-up $75,000, but these amounts have since risen to $500,000 and $250,000, respectively. CAF experimented with neutral venues in the tournament’s early years, holding the 1994 Al-Ahly vs. Zamalek match at Johannesburg’s National Bank Stadium and the 1995 Esperance vs. Motema Pembe final at Alexandria Stadium in Egypt. However, this practice was short-lived.