The 2019–20 Egyptian Premier League, also known as The
WE League for sponsorship purposes, is the 61st season of the
Egyptian Premier League
The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...
, the top Egyptian professional league for
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
clubs, since its establishment in 1948. The season began on 21 September 2019 and will conclude on 31 October 2020. Fixtures for the 2019–20 season were announced on 12 September 2019.
Defending champions
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 ...
won their 5th consecutive and 42nd overall Egyptian Premier League title on 18 September 2020, following
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 ...
's 1–0 defeat against
Aswan
Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate.
Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...
.
On 14 March 2020, a decision was made 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 ...
to postpone all football activities in Egypt due to the spread of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
in the country.
The initial suspension, until 29 March, was then extended multiple times until at least mid-July. On 2 July 2020, the EFA announced that the league would recommence on 6 August, and confirmed that all clubs' players and staff will be tested for COVID-19 before resuming training.
Overview
VAR introduction
In August 2019,
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 ...
acting-president
Amr El Ganainy revealed the intentions to implement the
video assistant referee
The video assistant referee (VAR) is a Assistant referee (association football), match official in association football who assists the referee by reviewing decisions using video footage and providing advice to the referee based on those revi ...
(VAR) technology in the
Egyptian Premier League
The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...
starting from the second half of the 2019–20 season; stating that this would be a huge step forward for Egyptian football. Three months later, the EFA started a four-month training programme headed by EFA head of referees committee
Gamal El Ghandour and Egyptian international referee
Gehad Grisha for Egyptian referees to prepare them for the VAR introduction.
In late January 2020, the EFA received final
IFAB
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) is an international self-regulatory body of association football that is known for determining the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game, the regulations for the gameplay o ...
approval for VAR usage in the domestic competitions after fulfilling all the necessary requirements to introduce VAR technology into Egyptian football. By the end of the training programmes held by the EFA, El Ghandour announced that 52 new Egyptian referee have received a VAR license; describing it as a "miracle" to have from 4 to 56 licensed referee in just four months.
The VAR technology was officially introduced in the Egyptian Premier League on 5 March 2020 in a match between
Tala'ea El Gaish and
ENPPI at
Gehaz El Reyada Stadium
Gehaz El Reyada El Askari Stadium (), is a multi-use stadium with an all-seated capacity of 20,000 located in Cairo Governorate, Egypt. It is the home for Tala'ea El Gaish.
References
Football venues in Egypt
Stadiums in Cairo
Multi- ...
.
Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
After the first case of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
was identified
in Egypt on 14 February 2020, 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 ...
revealed that there is no intentions to postpone football activities in Egypt and instead they announced a series of precautionary measures to be used by all clubs' players and staff. By the arrival of the first COVID-19 case in Egypt, the league was paused for the mid-season break.
On 10 March 2020, the EFA decided to continue the league
behind closed doors
Behind Closed Doors may refer to:
Film, television and radio Film
* ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli
* Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...
until further notice to avoid the spreading of the disease. However, after the number of infected people in Egypt reached 110 cases just four days later of the initial announcement, the EFA decided to suspend all football activities in Egypt until at least 29 March 2020.
[
]
Resumption
On 1 July 2020, 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 ...
refused to resume training or return to complete the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the country unless a "cure" for coronavirus is found, this came after the club's goalkeeper
In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...
Mohammed Awad Mohamed or Mohammed Awad may refer to:
* Mohamed Awad (Egyptian footballer) (born 1992)
* Mohamed Awad (Somali footballer) (born 1994)
* Mohammed Awad (politician) (died 2007), assassinated Iraqi politician
* Mohammed Awad (squash player) (born ...
revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 on 26 June. Football activities were due to return on 25 July after the government allowed teams to resume training in June
Nevertheless, the EFA announced on 3 July 2020 that the season would commence on 6 August 2020 after almost five months of being suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, the season would commence its schedule in two phases starting with the postponed games according to the head of Competitions Committee Hossam El Zanati.
The first phase will include the games scheduled to be played from 6 August until the end of the month, while the second phase of the games are scheduled to be played starting from 1 September until the end of the season. These will be revealed when the EFA reaches a final agreement concerning the Aswan Stadium
Aswan Stadium is a stadium in Aswan, Egypt. It has a capacity of 11,000 spectators. It is the home of Aswan SC.
References
Football venues in Egypt
{{Egypt-sports-venue-stub ...
as the venue for matches after clubs rejected Aswan Stadium
Aswan Stadium is a stadium in Aswan, Egypt. It has a capacity of 11,000 spectators. It is the home of Aswan SC.
References
Football venues in Egypt
{{Egypt-sports-venue-stub ...
located south of Cairo, as the proposed location for matches to be played citing the distance and long journey for the players and after CAF decides the final dates for the Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup
The CAF Confederation Cup, known as the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual association football football team, club competition established in 2004 and organized by Confederation of African Football, CAF ...
semi-finals and finals.
The EFA in June had implemented safety guidelines and testing procedures for players mandating two tests with five days separating each test, since then 19 tests have returned positive with individuals in isolation.
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
The Egyptian Second Division () was an Egyptian semi-professional football league representing the second tier of the Egyptian football league system until 2023. It was administered by the Egyptian Football Association. It was below the top profes ...
.
Teams promoted to the Egyptian Premier League
The first team to be promoted was Aswan
Aswan (, also ; ) is a city in Southern Egypt, and is the capital of the Aswan Governorate.
Aswan is a busy market and tourist centre located just north of the Aswan Dam on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract. The modern city ha ...
from Group A, as they secured the promotion to the Egyptian Premier League following their 2–1 away win against Al Nasr Lel Taa'den on 4 April 2019. The club returned to the Egyptian Premier League after staying two seasons in the Egyptian Second Division, and will play in the top flight for the tenth time in their history.
The second team to be promoted was Tanta
Tanta ( ' ) is a city in Egypt. Tanta had a population of 658,798 in 2018, making it the fifth most populous city in Egypt. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia Gove ...
from Group C, as they sealed the promotion to the Egyptian Premier League following their 2–0 away win against Sidi Salem
Sidi Salem () is a city in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, Egypt.
The medieval Arabic and Coptic scholars identified the city with ancient Phragonis (, , ), although the archeological findings point out to Kom al-Khawaled 7 kilometers east of Sid ...
on 11 April 2019. The club returned to the Egyptian Premier League after spending only one season in the Egyptian Second Division, as they were relegated from the Egyptian Premier League during the 2017–18 season. This season will mark the fifteenth appearance for Tanta in the Egyptian Premier League.
The third team to be promoted was FC Masr
ZED Football Club (), formerly known as FC Masr, is an Egyptian professional football club based in Giza, Egypt. The club currently plays in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest tier in the Egyptian football league system.
The club was known ...
from Group B, as they earned the promotion to the Egyptian Premier League following their 0–0 away draw with Al Merreikh on 18 April 2019. The club earned the promotion after an intense contents with 4 other clubs for the only promotion spot from their group. FC Masr will play in the Egyptian Premier League for the first time in the club's history.
Teams relegated to the Egyptian Second Division
The first club to be relegated was Nogoom, who suffered an immediate return to the Egyptian Second Division following a 2–1 away defeat to Misr Lel Makkasa on 10 May 2019. Despite defeating 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 ...
1–0 earlier in the previous season and having a great start, the club started slowly to collapse which eventually made them finish in the last place.
The second club to be relegated was El Dakhleya, who were relegated from the Egyptian Premier League for the first time in their history following a 2–1 home defeat to 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 ...
on 12 May 2019; ending their stay in the league that lasted for eight years. El Dakhleya were one of eight clubs that are not founding members of the Egyptian Premier League and have never been relegated since their debut in the top flight.
The third club to be relegated was Suez
Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...
-based side Petrojet, who were also relegated from the Egyptian Premier League for the first time in their history following a 0–0 draw with Al Mokawloon Al Arab on 3 June 2019; ending their top flight spell of thirteen years. Similar to El Dakhleya, Petrojet were one of eight clubs that are not founding members of the Egyptian Premier League and have never been relegated since their debut in the top flight.
Venues
;Notes
Personnel and kits
:1. On the back of shirt.
:2. On the sleeves.
* WE, Oppo
Oppo (sometimes stylized as OPPO) is a private company, private China, Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
Founded in 2004, its major product lines include Oppo phones, smartphones, Smart device, sm ...
, 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
Foreign players
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
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 ...
, Syria
Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, 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 Palestinian 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.
Results
League table
Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.
Source
Soccerway
Results table
;Notes
Season statistics
Scoring
*First goal of the season:
Seifeddine Jaziri
Seifeddine Jaziri (; born 12 February 1993) is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Egyptian Premier League club Zamalek and the Tunisia national team.
Career statistics Club
International
:''Scores and results li ...
for Al Mokawloon Al Arab against Tala'ea El Gaish (21 September 2019)
Top scorers
;Notes
Hat-tricks
;Note
(H) – Home; (A) – Away
Top assists
Clean sheets
Discipline
Player
*Most yellow cards: 11
** Amr El Sisi (Tala'ea El Gaish)
*Most red cards: 2[
** Emeka Eze (Al Masry)
** Tarek Hamed (Zamalek)
** Solomon Mensah (Aswan)
** Ahmed Said Ouka (FC Masr)
** Ramy Rabia (Al Ahly)
** Islam Saleh (FC Masr)
** Ferjani Sassi (Zamalek)
** Mohamed Abdel Razek (Tala'ea El Gaish)
]
Club
*Most yellow cards: 75
** Tala'ea El Gaish
*Most red cards: 8
** Al Mokawloon Al Arab
Number of teams by governorate
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Egyptian Premier League, 2019-20
2
Egyptian Premier League
The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...
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 ...
Association football events postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic