CAF Champions League: Battle of the giants as Al Ahly face Esperance in all-North African final

Another all-North African CAF Champions League final will see Al Ahly take on Esperance in a double-legged tie with the first leg slated for Saturday  May 18 and May 25, 2024 marked for the return leg.

Ahly have now made a sixth successive final in the CAF Champions League, although they have been far from their best this season in the Egyptian top flight.

The record winners of Africa’s premium club competition emphasised their stature and dominance when they edged Congo’s TP Mazembe in a 3-0 aggregate result to make their sixth straight final.

The Egyptian giants already have 11 titles in CAF Champions League history and are on course to making it 12, yet their North African rivals from Tunisia, Esperance, stand in their way.

Esperance Tunis did well to beat Mamelodi Sundowns in a 2-0 aggregate win in the semi-final to clinch a place in the final, as they have four titles in this competition to their name, with an iconic back-to-back collection in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Winning three CAF Champions League titles within the decade of the 2010s (2011,2018 and 2019) means Esperance are a major threat to Al Ahly, although the Egyptian giants have 25 continental titles.

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However, Ahly look the favourites for the title given their history. That reflects in their recent dominance which has seen them make it to each of the last five finals including that of this season, and have won thrice and lost only once (2021/2022) season on four already made attempts.

Esperance will then have to grab a favourable result in the first leg of the final when they host Ahly at the Stade Hammadi Agrebi in hopes of finishing the second encounter strong in Egypt.

The second-leg however will be that crucial clash that may yet define it all, and that’s where Ahly will have the advantage in Cairo at home, with a blazing atmosphere behind them.

This year’s CAF Champions League final will mark the fourth all-North African showdown in five years, highlighting the region’s dominance in African football over the past decade and beyond.

If Ahly triumph over Esperance and avenge their 2018 final loss to the Tunisians, it will be their fourth title in five years, a feat comparable to Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League dominance from 2014 to 2018.

Ahly’s potential victory would cement their status as the undisputed kings of African club football. Securing their 12th CAF Champions League title would also see them represent Africa at the revamped Club World Cup next year, alongside Esperance, Sundowns, and Wydad.

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