Al Ahly, one of Egypt’s two biggest clubs, has long held a reputation for having some particularly intense supporters. Prior to the club’s recent Confederation of Africa Cup Final match against Ivorian side Sewe Sport, those supporters took the opportunity to display just how that reputation was earned.
In a lengthy video uploaded to YouTube, one end of the Cairo Stadium (Al Ahly’s home ground) showcased a series of mosaic tifos displaying the phrase “For the Fans” in a variety of languages, including Arabic, French, German, English, Spanish and Greek. The stadium, which has a capacity of 74,000 but a record attendance of 120,000, was in full voice, and it only took four minutes for the first flares to appear. By the end of the video, one entire section of the stadium appears to be completely engulfed in flames, with roiling smoke and vocal singing making the entire scene look more at home in something written by Dante Alighieri. Not surprisingly, Al Ahly (which had lost the away fixture 2-1) was motivated by the display, registering a 1-0 victory and earning the club’s first ever CAF Confederation Cup title in the process.