The Egypt Cup (also known as the Egyptian FA Cup and formerly as the King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

cup competition in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It is the oldest club competition in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

. The first team to win the trophy was

Zamalek Zamalek ( , ''al zamalek'') is a ''qism'' (ward) within the West District (''hayy gharb'') in the Western Area of Cairo, Egypt. It is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, wit ...

in 1922. Al Ahly hold the record of total number of titles with a total of 39 titles, Zamalek also holds the record of being the only club to win the title for 4 consecutive years twice; from 1957 to 1960 and 2013 up to 2016.

History

The Egypt Cup is the oldest tournament in the history of Egyptian football that is still being held to-date, and it is the first competition to be organized by the

Egyptian Football Association The Egyptian Football Association () is the governing body of association football in Egypt. A member of FIFA since 1923 and a founding member of the CAF, the EFA has jurisdiction over the Egyptian football league system and is responsible for ...

. However, it is not the first football tournament to be held in the country. The first local football tournament in Egypt was the

Sultan Hussein Cup The Sultan Hussein Cup (1917–1938) was the first local Egyptian football competition. It preceded the Egypt Cup and the regional leagues in the areas of Cairo, Alexandria, Bahary and Canal Canals or artificial waterways are wat ...

. It was launched in 1917, and its last edition was held in the 1937-38 season. The Sultan Hussein Cup witnessed the participation of Egyptian clubs with clubs belonging to the British army, which was present in Egypt at the time. With the establishment of the Egyptian Football Association in 1921, the need arose to launch a tournament with only Egyptian clubs participating, and from this time the Egypt Cup tournament emerged with the participation of

Al Ahly Al-Ahly Sporting Club (), commonly known as Al-Ahly, is an Egyptian professional sports club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team which currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest ...

, Tersana,

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

, Schools team, Railway, Al-Abbasiya, Al Ittihad, Al-Haditha, and the Nile. Zamalek_1921

achieved the title of the first edition of the Egypt Cup, after defeating Al Ittihad; 5-0 in the 1922 final match. Tersana won the second edition in 1923, followed by Al Ahly in 1924. The first Cairo derby between Zamalek and Al Ahly to be played in the final was in the 1928 edition which Al Ahly won by a score of 1–0, winning goal scored by Mamdouh Sakr. The 1930–31 edition saw Al Ahly winning Zamalek in the final by a score of 4–1. The next year in the 1932 final between Zamalek and Al Ahly, Zamalek retaliated and defeated Al Ahly by a score of 2–1, winners goals were scored by Ismail Raafat, Said El-Hadary and Amin Shoeir scored for Al Ahly. In the 1934–35 edition, the final was held on 10 May 1935. The match was again contested by

and

, with Zamalek winning by a score of 3–0, goals were scored by Helmy Zamora, El-Samkary and Marei. The biggest win in the 1944 final match between the Cairo giants; Zamalek and Al Ahly with a 6-0 win for Zamalek, goals scored by Zoklot (

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

), Mohsen El-Sehaimi (2 goals) and

Abdel-Karim Sakr Abdel-Karim Ezzat Sakr (; born 8 November 1918 – 5 March 1994) was an Egyptian football forward who played for Egypt and Zamalek. He played most of his career with Zamalek, and achieved 14 titles with the club. Starting his professional ca ...

. This was the second

Cairo Derby The Cairo derby () or the Top Match (), known as the Arab Classico () is a rivalry between Egyptian Association football, football clubs Al Ahly SC, Al Ahly and Zamalek SC, Zamalek, arguably the two most successful clubs in Egypt and Africa. Al A ...

in two years to end with a 6-0 win for Zamalek after the

1941–42 Cairo League 1941–42 Cairo League, the 21st Cairo League competition, Ahly won the competition for the 12th time. League table (C)= Champions, Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; ...

match. After this huge score for Zamalek, Al Ahly won three consecutive titles in (1945, 1946, 1947), however, they didn't meet Zamalek in the final. Zamalek dominated the 1950s, as the Cairo giants won seven titles between the years of 1952 to 1962, starting from

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

, followed by four consecutive titles in (

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

(title shared with Al Ahly),

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

) and finally in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. In 1958, and 1959, Zamalek claimed their title from Al Ahly, who won the 1961 title after winning El Qanah 5–0 in the final, the next year, Zamalek also claimed their title by winning Al Ittihad by a score of 5–1 in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

. From 1962 to 1976, Zamalek and Al Ahly only won one title each, as El Qanah, Tersana and Al Ittihad dominated this era. However, Zamalek won the

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

titles, with Al Ahly claiming their title from their rivals in the 1978 final. In the early 1980s, Al Ahly dominated the championship, they won the 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Followed by the final and sixth title for Tersana in 1986, before Zamalek winning their 18th title in the 1988 edition after nine years from their last title. In the 1990s, the tournament saw the Cairo derby in the final for the first time in 14 years, after Al Ahly won Zamalek by a score of 2–1 in the 1992 final. This decade saw new champions, as

Ismaily Ismaily Sporting Club () is an Egyptian football club, established on 20 March 1921 as El Nahda Sporting Club () ( Egyptian pronunciation: Nady El Nahda), based in Ismaïlia, Egypt. The club is best known for its football team. Also it's consi ...

won their first title in the 1997 edition after defeating Al Ahly by a score of 1–0 in the final, followed by Al Masry in 1998 after defeating Al Mokawloon in the final. Despite its launch more than 100 years ago, the Egypt Cup has witnessed the holding of 90 editions so far, and has been canceled on more than one occasion. The tournament was canceled in the 1942-43 season, after players from Zamalek and Al-Ahly (the final belligerents) were suspended after their travel to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

, and opposition to the Football Association’s decision in this regard. The tournament was not played between 1967 and 1971 due to the

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

, and it was canceled in the 1973-74 season due to the October War. For several other reasons, the tournament was canceled in 1979-80, 1986-87 and 1993-94 seasons, and was canceled in the 1981-82 edition due to Zamalek’s dispute with the Football Association. The cup was also canceled in the 2011-12 season after the

Port Said Stadium riot The Port Said Stadium riot was a riot which occurred at Port Said Stadium in Port Said, Egypt on 1 February 2012, following an Egyptian Premier League football match between Al Masry and Al Ahly. Seventy-four people were killed and more than ...

in the

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

match between

Al-Masry Al Masry Sporting Club () is an Egyptian sports club based in Port Said, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team that competes in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest tier of the Egyptian football league system. ...

and Al-Ahly.

List of finals

The following table provides a summary of seasons: Notes: * The Winner and Runner-up of 1960–61 Egypt Cup qualified for United Arab Republic Cup. * Title Shared.

Performances

Performance by club

Notes: * The 1942–43 and 1957–58 titles were shared.

All-time top scorers

References

External links

Competition history
on

RSSSF The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (''RSSSF'') is an international organisation dedicated to collecting statistics about association football. The foundation aims to build an exhaustive archive of football-related information from around ...

* (Arabic) * {{National football Cups (CAF region)

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...