Zamalek face African Champions League test shaped by Arab-club curse

The CAF Champions League draw has handed Zamalek a difficult Group B challenge against Mouloudia Club of Algiers, Club Africain and Young Africans, reviving an unwanted pattern from the club’s recent continental history.

Since the competition adopted its modern format in 2016, Zamalek have been eliminated in every group-stage campaign in which they were drawn alongside an Arab opponent.

In the 2017 edition, they finished third in a group containing USM Alger, Al Ahli Tripoli and CAPS United, ending their hopes of progressing.

The same outcome followed in the 2020-21 season, when Zamalek faced Esperance de Tunis, Mouloudia Club of Algiers and Teungueth. They failed to reach the quarter-finals.

A year later, their group included Wydad AC, Petro Atletico and Sagrada Esperanca, but Zamalek again missed out on a qualifying place.

The pattern continued in the 2022-23 edition, as they were grouped with Esperance de Tunis, CR Belouizdad and Al-Merrikh before exiting at the same stage.

Their reunion with Mouloudia Club of Algiers, combined with the presence of Club Africain, raises the question of whether Zamalek can finally break that sequence.

A contrasting record

The wider history contains a notable exception. In the 2016 edition, Zamalek advanced from a group featuring ES Setif, Mamelodi Sundowns and Enyimba before going on to reach the final.

ES Setif were later expelled from the competition after crowd trouble during their match against Mamelodi Sundowns. Zamalek continued their run, eventually reaching the final, where they lost the title to Mamelodi Sundowns.

That campaign remains central to the historical contradiction surrounding the club. Zamalek progressed from a group in which one of their Arab opponents was removed from the tournament.

There is a second significant detail in their record: on both occasions when Zamalek have made it through the group stage under the modern format, they have gone on to reach the final.

Their other successful campaign came in 2019-20, when they qualified from a group containing TP Mazembe, Primeiro de Agosto and Zesco United.

Zamalek then defeated Esperance de Tunis in the quarter-finals and Raja CA in the semi-finals, before losing 2-1 to Al Ahly in the final.

As a result, their group-stage record has followed two sharply different paths. When they have progressed, they have reached the final; in every other modern-era campaign, they have gone out in the group phase.

The latest draw gives Zamalek an opportunity to change the first part of that record, although the presence of two Arab clubs brings the previous difficulty back into focus.

With Mouloudia Club of Algiers, Club Africain and Young Africans all in the group, securing either of the two qualifying places will be challenging.

Zamalek must therefore overcome the pattern associated with Arab opposition while trying to repeat the achievement that has followed each of their previous group-stage escapes.