Al Ahly refuses to play friendly game with Atletico Madrid

CAIRO – 15 October 2017: Egypt's Al Ahly refused to play a friendly game against Atletico Madrid, the European champions' runner-up last season, in UAE in December.

Nader Khalil, the marketing manager of Al Ahly, said the reason for this was Al Ahly's involvement in several matches in the Egyptian league, which would not be in line with Atletico's schedule.

Khalil said that Al Ahly was trying to take part in a world championship for the U19 team with Bayern Munich and Guangzhou Evergrande of China, with a prize of $2.5 million, which exceeds the amount of other competitions.

Al Ahly played a friendly game last year against Roma in UAE and won 4-3.
It is worth mentioning that Al Ahly will play against Etoile du Sahel at the second leg of the CAF Champions League semi-finals on Sunday, October 22. Al Ahly lost the semi finals’ first leg 2-1 in Sousse.