2020–21 Egyptian Premier League

Egyptian Premier League
Season	2020–21
Dates	11 December 2020 – 28 August 2021
Champions	Zamalek; 13th title
Relegated	Wadi Degla; El Entag El Harby; Aswan
Champions League	Zamalek; Al Ahly
Confederation Cup	Pyramids; Al Masry
Matches played	306
Goals scored	765 (2.5 per match)
Top goalscorer	Mohamed Sherif; (21 goals)
Biggest home win	Pyramids 6–0 Ghazl El Mahalla; (28 August 2021)
Biggest away win	Misr Lel Makkasa 0–5 Pyramids; (25 August 2021)
Highest scoring	National Bank of Egypt 5–3 Misr Lel Makkasa; (18 August 2021)
Longest winning run	8 matches; Zamalek
Longest unbeaten run	19 matches; Zamalek
Longest winless run	14 matches; El Entag El Harby
Longest losing run	6 matches; Misr Lel Makkasa
	← 2019–20 2021–22 →

The 2020–21 Egyptian Premier League, also known as The WE Egyptian Premier League for sponsorship purposes, was the 62nd season of the Egyptian Premier League, the top Egyptian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1948. The season started on 11 December 2020 and is concluded on 28 August 2021. Fixtures for the 2020–21 season was announced one week before the start of the competition.

The season was initially scheduled to start in July, but was delayed to November and later to December due to effects and consequence of the postponement of the previous season's conclusion due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt.^[2]

Al Ahly were the defending champions, having won their 5th consecutive and 42nd overall league title in the previous season. Zamalek secured their 13th league title and their first since 2015 with two games to spare; ending Al Ahly's five-year dominance.

Teams edit

Cairo and Giza teams
Al Ahly
Ceramica Cleopatra
ENPPI
El Entag El Harby
Al Mokawloon Al Arab
National Bank of Egypt
Pyramids
Tala'ea El Gaish
Wadi Degla
Zamalek

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Locations of the 2020–21 Egyptian Premier League teams

Eighteen teams will compete in the league - the top fifteen teams from the previous season, and three teams promoted from the Egyptian Second Division.

Teams promoted to the Egyptian Premier League
On 12 October 2020, National Bank of Egypt secured promotion for the first time in their history following a 1–1 draw with Asyut Petroleum in the final round, in which they finished the season at the top of Group A with equal points with second-placed Beni Suef, but they beat them on head-to-head points.^[3]

Ghazl El Mahalla became the second team to be promoted on 13 October, after spending four years in the Second Division, as they ended their season at the top of Group C, winning in the last round 2–1 against Olympic Club, thus having a two-point lead ahead of Pharco.^[4]

Ceramica Cleopatra were promoted for the first time in their history on 15 October, as they finished their season at the top of Group B, following a goalless draw with Gomhoriat Shebin in the last round, thus they were one point ahead of second-placed Petrojet.^[5]

Teams relegated to the Egyptian Second Division
The first club to be relegated was Tanta, who suffered an immediate return to the Egyptian Second Division following Wadi Degla's 4–1 away win against El Entag El Harby on 28 September 2020, which assured the relegation of the El Gharbia-based side. Despite having a decent start early in the previous season, Tanta's performance was progressively worsened and eventually led the club to go on a 17-game winless run and finish on bottom of the table.^[6]

The second club to be relegated was FC Masr, who also suffered an immediate return to the Egyptian Second Division following a 1–1 home draw with ENPPI on 3 October 2020 that confirmed the club's relegation. The club did not enjoy a good success in their first-ever season in top flight as they managed to win only 3 matches and conceded more goals that any other club in the league.^[7]

Haras El Hodoud became the last club to be relegated on 12 October, as they lost 1–2 to Zamalek in the 33rd round; thus returning to the Second Division after only two seasons in the top tier.^[8]

Venues edit

Al Ahly	Aswan	Ceramica Cleopatra
Al Salam Stadium	Aswan Stadium	Suez Stadium
Capacity: 30,000	Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 27,000

ENPPI	El Entag El Harby	Ghazl El Mahalla
Petro Sport Stadium	Al Salam Stadium	Ghazl El Mahalla Stadium
Capacity: 16,000	Capacity: 30,000	Capacity: 14,564

El Gouna	Ismaily	Al Ittihad
Khaled Bichara Stadium	Ismailia Stadium	Alexandria Stadium
Capacity: 12,000	Capacity: 18,525	Capacity: 19,676

Al Masry	Misr Lel Makkasa	Al Mokawloon Al Arab
Borg El Arab Stadium^[c]	TBD^[d]	Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium
Capacity: TBD	Capacity: TBD	Capacity: 35,000

National Bank of Egypt	Pyramids	Smouha
Arab Contractors Stadium^[e]	30 June Stadium	Alexandria Stadium
Capacity: TBD	Capacity: 30,000	Capacity: 19,676

Tala'ea El Gaish	Wadi Degla	Zamalek
Gehaz El Reyada Stadium	Petro Sport Stadium	Cairo International Stadium
Capacity: 20,000	Capacity: 16,000	Capacity: 75,000

Notes

^ The 2020–21 Egyptian Premier League was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Egyptian Football Association announced that Zamalek and Al Ahly, who were at first and second place after 29 rounds respectively, would represent Egypt in the Champions League.^[1]
^ The 2020–21 Egypt Cup was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Egyptian Football Association announced that Al Masry and Pyramids, who were at third and fourth place after 29 rounds respectively, would represent Egypt in the Confederation Cup.^[1]
^ Al Masry's home stadium, Al Masry Club Stadium, will be unavailable for the 2020–21 season as it's undergoing renovation, and as a result will be required to choose another stadium to be used as their home venue for the 2020–21 season.
^ Misr Lel Makkasa's home stadium, Faiyum Stadium, did not receive approval from local authorities to host the club's home matches for the 2020–21 season yet, and as a result the club might be required to choose another stadium to be used as their home venue for this season.
^ National Bank of Egypt's home stadium, National Bank of Egypt Stadium, did not meet the EFA requirements to host Egyptian Premier League matches, and as a result will be required to choose another stadium to be used as their home venue for the 2020–21 season.

Personnel and kits edit

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Al Ahly	Pitso Mosimane	Mohamed El Shenawy	Umbro	WE, SAIB Bank, Royal Dutch Shell¹, Tiger Chips¹, GLC Paints²
Aswan	Alaa Abdelaal	Mohamed Gaber	Puma	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Ceramica Cleopatra	Haitham Shaaban	Amer Mohamed	Kelme	Ceramica Cleopatra Group
ENPPI	Helmy Toulan	Ramy Sabry	Nike	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
El Entag El Harby	Ahmed Abdel Moneim	Ahmed Yehia	Uhlsport	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Ghazl El Mahalla	Khaled Eid	Mohamed Fathalla	Kelme	Misr Life Insurance
El Gouna	Reda Shehata	Nour El Sayed	Adidas	Orascom Group
Ismaily	Ehab Galal	Mohamed Sobhy	Jako	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Al Ittihad	Hossam Hassan		Xtep	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Al Masry	Ali Maher		Nike	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Makkassa	Mohamed Azima		Nike	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Al Mokawloon Al Arab	Emad El Nahhas	Mahmoud Abou El Saoud	Kelme	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
National Bank of Egypt	Khaled Galal		Nike	National Bank of Egypt
Pyramids	Takis Gonias	Abdallah El Said	Puma	Swyp², TikTok
Smouha	Ahmed Samy	Ahmed Homos	Kelme	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
El Geish	Abdel Hamid Bassiouny	Mohamed Bassam	Kelme	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Wadi Degla	Mario Salas		Sigma Fit	WE, Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair
Zamalek	Patrice Carteron	Shikabala	Puma	Oppo, SAIB Bank, Egyptair, Lactel

1. ^ On the back of shirt.

2. ^ On the sleeves.

WE, Oppo, El Kasrawy Group, SAIB Bank, EgyptAir and GLC Paints are the league's main sponsors, and their logos are printed on most teams' kits.
Referee kits are made by Puma.

Managerial changes edit

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Number of Matches	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
National Bank of Egypt	Eid Maraziq	Resigned		15 October 2020^[9]	Pre-season	Mohamed Youssef	19 October 2020^[10]
Pyramids	Ante Čačić	Sacked		1 November 2020^[11]	Pre-season	Rodolfo Arruabarrena
Ismaily	Heron Ferreira	Sacked	3 Matches	21 December 2020	8th	Talaat Youssef	22 December 2020
Ismaily	Talaat Youssef	Resigned	0 Matches	24 December 2020	8th	Saafan El-Sagheer	24 December 2020
Tala'ea El Gaish	Tarek El Ashry	Resigned	5 Matches	2 January 2021		Abdel Hamid Bassiouny	4 January 2021
Aswan	Sami El-Sheshini	Sacked	6 Matches	10 January 2021		Alaa Abdelaal	10 January 2021
Ismaily	Saafan El-Sagheer	Interim		January 2021		Dragan Jović	29 January 2021
Wadi Degla	Nikodimos Papavasiliou	Sacked		21 January 2021		Mario Salas	1 February 2021
Ismaily	Dragan Jović	Resigned		18 March 2021		Ehab Galal	19 March 2021
Misr Lel Makkasa	Ehab Galal	Signed by Ismaily		19 March 2021		Mohamed Azima	24 March 2021
Wadi Degla	Mario Salas	Sacked		27 May 2021		Abdul Baki Jamal	27 May 2021
Misr Lel Makkasa	Mohamed Azima	Resigned		28 June 2021		Mohamed Abdel-Galil	29 June 2021
Pyramids	Rodolfo Arruabarrena	Sacked		1 July 2021		Takis Gonias	10 January 2021

Foreign players edit

Clubs can have a maximum of four foreign players registered during the season. Clubs cannot sign foreign players unless these players have played in the first or second tier in their countries. Clubs also cannot sign any foreign goalkeepers. In addition, each club can register a player from Palestine, Syria, or the UNAF region; those players are not counted as foreign players. Also, any foreign player who holds Egyptian nationality is not considered a foreign player and will be registered as a local player. For example, Al Masry's player Mahmoud Wadi of Palestine holds both Palestinan and Egyptian nationalities, and as a result he is not registered as a foreign player.

Players name followed with ^† indicates the player is playing out on loan.
Players name followed with ^§ indicates the player is playing for the club on loan.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window.
Players name in ITALICS indicates the player has left the club during the mid-season transfer window.

Club	Player 1	Player 2	Player 3	Player 4	Player 5	Under contract	Former players
Al Ahly	Walter Bwalya	Aliou Dieng	Junior Ajayi	Badr Benoun	Ali Maâloul	Aliou Badji	Geraldo
Aswan	Solomon Mensah	John Avire					Moussa Dao Jean-Claude Iranzi
Ceramica Cleopatra	Kwame Bonsu	Winnful Cobbina	Fonsinho	Maxwell Baakoh	Seif Teka
ENPPI	Fiston Abdul Razak	Tonia Tisdell	Himid Mao		Ziad Boughettas
El Entag El Harby	Mohamed Sanogo Vieira	Abdul Wahab Hanan	Mamadou Ndioko Niass		Badr Mousa Rafik Kamergi		Aymen Trabelsi Moussa Diawara
Ghazl El Mahalla	Emmanuel Karbogi	Moses Odo
El Gouna	Serge Arnaud Aka	Allan Kyambadde		Joseph Ngwem	Mohamed Lahbib Yeken		Walter Bwalya
Ismaily	Marouane Sahraoui	Ary Papel	Benson Shilongo	Redouane Cherifi	Fakhreddine Ben Youssef		Piqueti Humam Tariq Patrick Kaddu
Ittihad	Damion Lowe		Emmanuel Okwi	Razack Cissé	Omar Midani		Wilson Akakpo Mohamed Anis Saltou
Al Masry	Saïdou Simporé	Austin Amutu	Emeka Christian Eze	Kazadi Kasengu	Mohammed Saleh		Muftah Taktak Cheick Moukoro Mahmoud Wadi
Misr El Makasa	Shimelis Bekele	Kevin Muhire	Muftah Taktak	Paulin Voavy	Ahmed Marchuh
Al Mokawloon Al Arab	Farouck Kabore	Luis Hinestroza					Maarouf Youssef Jacob Njoku
National Bank of Egypt	Mohamed Koffi	Estrela	Maarouf Youssef	Moussa Diawara	Mohamed Methnani
Pyramids	Eric Traoré	John Antwi	Wilfried Kanon	Lumala Abdu	Amor Layouni Mahmoud Wadi	Ribamar^† Hamed Hamdan Cristian Benavente^†	Keno Azubuike Okechukwu
Smouha	Rafik Kabou	Eddy Ngoyi	Maguette Diop	Derrick Nsibambi	Mohamed Al Tarhoni
Tala'ea El Gaish	Franck Engonga Obame	Ibrahim Kone	Toni Gomes	Talla N'Diaye
Wadi Degla	Issahaku Yakubu	Jorginho	Rodney Antwi	Diego Calderón	Iheb Mbarki
Zamalek	Hamid Ahadad	Achraf Bencharki	Seifeddine Jaziri	Ferjani Sassi	Hamza Mathlouthi	Mohamed Ounajem

Results edit

League table edit

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Zamalek^[a] (C)	34	24	8	2	61	21	+40	80	Qualification for the Champions League
2	Al Ahly^[a]	34	22	10	2	72	29	+43	76	Qualification for the Champions League
3	Pyramids^[a]	34	13	16	5	51	37	+14	55	Qualification for the Confederation Cup
4	Smouha	34	12	18	4	54	41	+13	54
5	Al Masry^[a]	34	13	11	10	44	38	+6	50	Qualification for the Confederation Cup
6	ENPPI	34	12	13	9	37	35	+2	49
7	Al Ittihad	34	12	12	10	35	35	0	48
8	Tala'ea El Gaish	34	10	12	12	41	37	+4	42
9	Al Mokawloon Al Arab	34	11	8	15	37	45	−8	41
10	Ceramica Cleopatra	34	8	15	11	41	46	−5	39
11	Ismaily^[b]	34	10	11	13	42	44	−2	38
12	El Gouna	34	8	14	12	36	41	−5	38
13	Misr Lel Makkasa	34	10	8	16	36	54	−18	38
14	National Bank of Egypt	34	6	17	11	39	44	−5	35
15	Ghazl El Mahalla	34	7	14	13	28	41	−13	35
16	Wadi Degla (R)	34	5	15	14	29	38	−9	30	Relegation to the Second Division
17	El Entag El Harby (R)	34	5	13	16	35	60	−25	28
18	Aswan (R)	34	6	9	19	29	61	−32	27

Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-Head points; 3) Head-to-Head goal difference; 4) Head-to-Head goals scored; 5) Head-to-Head away goals scored; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored.
(Note: Head-to-head record is used only after all the matches between the teams in question have been played).
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d The 2020–21 Egyptian Premier League was not finished by the CAF deadline. As a result, the Egyptian Football Association announced that Zamalek and Al Ahly, who were at first and second place after 29 rounds respectively, will represent Egypt in the 2021–22 CAF Champions League. Meanwhile, Al Masry and Pyramids FC, who were at third and fourth place after 29 rounds respectively, will represent Egypt in the 2021–22 CAF Confederation Cup.^[12]
^ Ismaily were deducted 3 points.

Results table edit

Home \ Away	AHL	ASW	CCL	ENP	ENT	GMH	GOU	ISM	ITH	MAS	MMK	MOK	NBE	PYR	SMO	TGS	WDG	ZAM
Al Ahly	—	2–1	4–0	2–0	4–1	3–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–2	3–1	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–2	2–1	0–0	1–1
Aswan	1–3	—	1–1	1–0	2–2	1–1	0–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	2–4	1–2	0–2	0–2	1–3	2–1	1–4	0–0
Ceramica Cleopatra	0–2	1–1	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	2–3	1–1	1–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	0–1	1–1	2–1	1–2	1–2
ENPPI	1–3	0–1	2–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–1	0–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	3–2	0–0	1–1	0–0	1–2
El Entag El Harby	2–3	1–1	0–2	0–0	—	0–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–3	2–1	1–0	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–2
Ghazl El Mahalla	1–0	0–1	0–2	1–0	1–3	—	0–0	2–2	1–1	1–2	1–2	1–2	0–0	2–2	1–1	2–1	2–2	2–1
El Gouna	3–3	1–1	3–2	1–0	2–3	0–0	—	2–1	2–0	1–1	1–0	2–3	1–1	1–2	2–2	0–4	2–0	0–0
Ismaily	0–2	3–2	1–2	1–1	3–3	3–1	3–2	—	1–2	2–1	2–1	0–1	0–0	1–1	0–2	0–0	0–2	0–2
Al Ittihad	1–2	1–3	0–0	0–1	2–0	0–0	0–1	1–0	—	1–1	2–1	4–2	0–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–1	1–2
Al Masry	1–2	3–0	2–2	1–3	2–3	1–0	1–0	0–0	1–0	—	0–0	3–1	0–0	1–2	0–1	1–0	2–2	0–1
Misr Lel Makkasa	1–4	1–0	1–2	0–1	1–0	1–0	1–0	3–1	0–4	1–1	—	0–0	3–5	0–5	1–1	0–2	3–1	0–1
Al Mokawloon Al Arab	0–2	0–1	1–1	2–1	1–1	0–1	2–1	1–0	1–3	0–1	3–2	—	2–0	0–2	1–2	0–1	1–0	0–2
National Bank of Egypt	0–0	2–2	1–1	2–3	3–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–1	2–0	0–1	0–1	—	0–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1
Pyramids	0–0	2–0	2–4	1–1	3–2	6–0	1–1	2–2	1–2	0–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	—	0–3	1–0	1–1	1–1
Smouha	0–1	5–0	0–0	1–1	4–2	1–1	3–1	0–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	—	4–2	2–1	0–2
Tala'ea El Gaish	0–0	3–0	2–2	1–1	3–0	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–2	0–0	1–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	—	1–0	1–2
Wadi Degla	1–2	0–0	0–0	1–2	0–0	0–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–3	1–1	2–1	4–2	1–3	1–2	0–1	—	0–0
Zamalek	1–2	3–0	2–0	3–1	2–0	3–0	1–0	2–1	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–2	4–1	1–1	2–1	2–1	1–0	—

Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Season statistics edit

Goalkeeping

Most Cleansheets


Rank	Player	Club	Cleansheets
1	Mohamed El Shenawy	Al Ahly	12
1	Mohamed Bassam	Tala'ea El Gaish	12
3	Mohamed Abou Gabal	Zamalek	10
	Islam Tarek	El Gouna
	Mohamed Sobhy	Al Ittihad Alexandria
6	Mohamed Abdel Monsef	Wadi Degla	10
7	Amr Shaaban	Ghazl El Mahalla	9
8	Ahmed Masoud	Al Masry	8
	Mahmoud El Zonfouly	National Bank of Egypt
	Mahmoud Gad	ENPPI

Scoring edit

Top scorers edit

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Mohamed Sherif	Al Ahly	21
2	Mostafa Fathi	Smouha	17
3	Achraf Bencharki	Zamalek	15
3	Ahmed Yasser Rayyan	Ceramica Cleopatra	15
5	Omar Kamal	Al Masry	13
6	Basem Morsy	Misr Lel Makkasa	12
6	Karim Bambo	National Bank of Egypt	12
8	Ahmed Samir	Tala'ea El Gaish	11
	Shimelis Bekele	Misr Lel Makkasa
	Fakhreddine Ben Youssef	Ismaily
	Ahmed Ali	National Bank of Egypt
	Omar El Said	El Gouna
	Mostafa El Badry	El Entag El Harby

Assists

Top Assists


Rank	Player	Club	Assists
1	Ali Maâloul	Al Ahly	12
2	Hussein El Shahat	Al Ahly	10
2	Amr El Halwani	Aswan	10
4	Mohamed Magdy Afsha	Al Ahly	8
5	Ahmed Refaat	Al Masry	7
5	Achraf Bencharki	Zamalek	7
7	Ahmed Sayed Zizo	Zamalek	6
	Mostafa Fathi	Smouha
	Amr Gamal	Tala'ea El Gaish
	Abdallah El Said	Pyramids

Number of teams by governorate edit

Number of teams	Governorate	Team(s)
9	Cairo	Al Ahly, ENPPI, El Entag El Harby, Al Mokawloon Al Arab, National Bank of Egypt, Pyramids, Tala'ea El Gaish, Wadi Degla and Zamalek
2	Alexandria	Al Ittihad and Smouha
1	Aswan	Aswan
	Giza	Ceramica Cleopatra
	Faiyum	Misr Lel Makkasa
	El Gharbia	Ghazl El Mahalla
	Ismailia	Ismaily
	Port Said	Al Masry
	Red Sea	El Gouna