Al Ahly men’s and women’s teams clinched the titles at the 47th edition of the CAHB African Club Championship, which took place between 5 and 14 October in Luanda, Angola.

If the men’s side secured their fourth title in a row and their eighth in history, for the women’s team it was the second title and the first for an Egyptian side since 1980, breaking a 27-editions streak for Angolan teams.

In the women’s competition, Group A featured Egyptian side Al Ahly, reigning African champions Primeiro de Agosto from Angola, Abidjan HBC from Côte d’Ivoire and Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Group B brings together Angolan rivals Petro Atlético and CASA, alongside Benin’s Flowers and Patrimoine from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The group phase saw eight teams compete across two groups. Group A was led by Primeiro de Agosto, who opened with a commanding 34:14 win against Abidjan HC and followed it with a 44:14 victory over Mazembe. 

Al Ahly also made a strong start, beating Mazembe 38:17 and Abidjan HC 27:21, before losing 22:30 to Primeiro de Agosto in their final group match. Group B was dominated by Petro Atlético, who defeated Flowers CNSS 37:20, Heritage 37:21 and Casa Pessoal Porto do Lobito 28:16. Flowers secured second place in the group after recording wins against Casa, 25:21, and Heritage, 28:22. 

In the quarter-finals, Primeiro de Agosto edged Casa Pessoal Porto do Lobito 21:19, while Petro Atlético comfortably defeated Mazembe 31:15. Al Ahly continued their progress with a 30:16 win against Heritage, and Abidjan HC completed the semi-final line-up by beating Flowers CNSS 19:14.

The semi-finals produced a major turning point. Primeiro de Agosto needed extra time to overcome Abidjan HC 22:20 after the teams were level at 18:18 at the end of regulation time. In the other match, Al Ahly defeated defending champions Petro Atlético 27:24, ending the Angolan side’s pursuit of another title and setting up a final between the Egyptian club and Primeiro de Agosto.

The final proved to be a tightly contested battle, with Al Ahly holding their nerve to secure a 21:20 victory and lift the trophy. Petro Atlético recovered from their semi-final disappointment to claim bronze, overpowering Abidjan HC 42:24 in the third-place match. Flowers finished fifth, Heritage took sixth, Casa Pessoal Porto do Lobito placed seventh and Mazembe finished eighth.

The top scorer of the competition was Patrimoine’s Christianne Mwasesa Mwange, with 33 goals, followed by Abidjan’s Ericka Doue, with 30 goals, and CASA’s Isabel Batalha de Almeida, with 29 goals.

Al Ahly won their second title in history, after the one in the inaugural edition, in 1979, and stopped a 27-edition of Angolan teams – Petro Atletico and Primeiro de Agosto – winning the trophy, a streak dating back to 1997.

The men’s competition originally featured four groups, but withdrawals led to a revised format with two groups and the top two teams in each advancing directly to the semi-finals. Group A brought together Al Ahly, Flowers CNSS, Petro Atlético de Luanda, Interclube, Renaissance Don Bosco and APR HC, while Group B featured Zamalek, JSK of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Primeiro de Agosto, Mechal and Mekele 70. 

Al Ahly made a strong start, beating Interclube 38:24 and Flowers 44:19 before defeating Petro Atlético 37:25. Petro had opened with a 38:25 victory over APR HC and followed it with a 28:13 win against Interclube, keeping their semi-final hopes alive despite the setback against the defending champions.

In Group B, Zamalek announced their intentions with a 33:26 win over Primeiro de Agosto before delivering one of the biggest victories of the group stage, beating Mekele 70 by 53:10. JSK also emerged as a serious contender, defeating Mechal 33:20 and Primeiro de Agosto 29:25 as the Congolese side secured their place among the last four. The group phase set up two compelling semi-finals, with the Egyptian favourites facing a rising challenger from Kinshasa and Zamalek taking on hosts Petro Atlético.

In the semi-finals, Al Ahly delivered a commanding performance to defeat JSK 38:20, having built an eight-goal advantage by half-time. Zamalek followed suit in the other match, overpowering Petro Atlético 35:21 after leading 21:12 at the break. The results ensured an all-Egyptian final, while JSK and Petro were left to contest the bronze medal.

The final proved far more closely contested. Zamalek led 10:9 at half-time and remained level with Al Ahly at 22:22 after 60 minutes. Neither side managed to break the deadlock in the first period of extra time, which ended 24:24, but Al Ahly found the decisive goal late in the second period to secure a narrow 26:25 victory. 

The triumph completed another successful title defence for the Cairo club and extended their winning run in the competition to four consecutive editions.

In the bronze-medal match, JSK defeated Petro Atlético 23:20 to claim third place and secure a historic first podium finish at the African Men’s Club Championship.

Al Ahly’s Mohamed Emad was the top scorer of the competition, with 42 goals, tied with Flowers’ John Shagary. Yves Kayijamahe from APR HBC was third, with 37 goals.

For Al Ahly, it was the fourth consecutive title and the eighth in total, cutting the gap to Zamalek (12 titles) and MC Alger (11 titles).