Wydad Casablanca, the holder of the title of the African Football Champions League competition, in the final of the current season 2022-2023, who holds the record for the number of crowning titles in the competition, faces the Egyptian club Al-Ahly, once again, as each of them seeks to write a new page in its history..
After a wonderful season that witnessed great clubs and excitement, and the application of beautiful football, only two clubs reached the final of the competition, where Al-Ahly of Egypt and its counterpart Wydad Casablanca will meet during the first-leg match in the final today, Sunday..
After returning to the formula for playing the final match in two legs, back and forth, Al-Ahly Club in Cairo will host its counterpart, Wydad, before traveling to Casablanca, to play the return match on June 11th. Where will he return to where he was defeated in the final last season.
Wydad Casablanca is looking forward to defending its title and reaching the fourth coronation in the competition, while Al-Ahly of Egypt is seeking to consolidate its record and reach the eleventh title..
Wydad Casablanca reached the final for the fifth time in its history, losing twice in 2011 and 2018, while the Egyptian club Al-Ahly will play its 16th final, where it won 10 titles and lost 5 finals, two of which were against Wydad Casablanca..
The Egyptian club Al-Ahly and Wydad Casablanca will meet for the second time in a row in the final of the competition, and the third in the history of the competition.
The Egyptian club Al-Ahly has dominated throughout history at the level of continental football, and will play its sixth final match in the last seven years.
During the year 2017, Wydad Casablanca won its penultimate title in the competition, and that was against Al-Ahly of Egypt, where the two teams met in the final, and tied 1-1 in Cairo, and Wydad Casablanca won 1-0 in Casablanca..
The Wydad delegation arrived in Cairo on Wednesday evening.
The Wydad administration allocated a private plane to transport the team’s mission to Egypt, noting that two members of the Wydad club’s management traveled to Cairo on Monday, in order to provide appropriate conditions for the team before its arrival the day before yesterday, as the two traveling members worked to choose a suitable hotel for the club’s mission, and were briefed. On the training ground that Al-Ahly management placed at the disposal of the team, in addition to standing closely on the rest of the logistical means needed by the members of the Wydad mission, throughout their stay in Cairo until the date of the match..
Wydad coach Sven Vandenbroek spoke about the final of the African Champions League competition, stressing the quest of all the club’s components to achieve the continental title..
Sven said in press statements: “We have a final that can be said to be revenge for the opponent, but all that is important is that we remain calm and united as a group, and I think that it is the individual characteristics that will decide the two confrontations.”“.
And he continued: “We played a match against Sun Downs and it ended in a draw, but with the advantage of goals outside the field we qualified, so there are no advantages in playing the second leg of the final in our land except for the fans, which will be a great advantage.”“.
He added, “The team this season went through difficult periods by changing coaches. When the desire is present and you have the opportunity to win the African Champions League, you can achieve the title.”“.
And the coach of the red team added: “I do not feel much pressure, because when you are in a team that has many titles, it is logical to search for winning all the championships that you compete for.”“.
It is worth noting that the match will be led by the Libyan referee, Moataz Ibrahim, and will be assisted by his compatriot, Attia Issa, and the Tunisian, Khalil Hassani, while the fourth referee is the Chadian, Hajj Mohamed Al-Lahou..
It is scheduled that the Tunisian Haitham Kirat will be a referee for the mouse, and he will be assisted by the Algerian Mustafa Ghorbal and the Cameroonian Karen Fomo.
