Egypt. Premier League 2026/27: Egyptian football and its Moroccans
The top tier of Egyptian football, the Egyptian Premier League has existed since 1948 and reaches edition number 68 in 2026/27 ⚽. Its organiser is the Egyptian professional clubs' association, working under the national federation, the Egyptian Football Association. There are 20 clubs, and the season comes in two parts: a single round robin first, then one group for the title and another for survival.
Zamalek crowned, Al Ahly third
The 2025/26 season ended on 20 May 2026 with Zamalek's 15th title, ending a wait that began after 2021/22. They needed a point on the last day of the final group and took all three by beating Ceramica Cleopatra 1:0, Odai Dabbagh scoring as early as the 8th minute. Pyramids, 2:1 winners over Smouha that evening, finished second, two points behind.
The final table had Zamalek on 56 points, Pyramids on 54, Al Ahly on 53 and Ceramica Cleopatra on 44, so Al Ahly ended just one point behind Pyramids and three behind the champions. Al Ahly, record holders with 45 titles, have to settle for the CAF Confederation Cup this season, while Zamalek and Pyramids play in Africa's Champions League. National Bank of Egypt striker Ahmed Yasser Rayyan finished as the league's leading scorer on 13 goals. Al Ahly's last title came in 2024/25.
Promoted, relegated and renamed
Club | Status for 2026/27 |
|---|---|
El Qanah | promoted, second-division champions with 75 points |
Asyut Petroleum | promoted, second in the second division |
Abou Qir Fertilizers | promoted, first top-flight season in their history |
Ismaily | relegated, for the first time since 1957/58 |
Pharco, Haras El Hodoud, Kahrabaa Ismailia | relegated |
Al Sharqiya Enppi | new name of ENPPI after a merger announced on 13 July 2026 |
Suez Petrojet | new name of Petrojet after a merger with a club from Suez |
Ismaily's fate was sealed on 12 May 2026 by a 1:2 defeat to Wadi Degla. With 21 clubs last season and 20 this time, the league is slowly shrinking: four clubs went down and three came up.
Format and key dates
The draw for the fixtures took place on 5 August 2026. The first stage began on Friday 21 August, with ten games spread over three days, and ends on 20 February 2027 after 19 rounds: every club meets all the others once, 190 games in total. The second stage starts on Monday 8 March 2027: places one to six contest the title and the tickets to Africa's club competitions, the fourteen others for survival, with four relegation spots at stake. The season is due to finish in May 2027, with no official date yet.
After the international break from 21 September to 6 October, the league resumes on 11 October with round 6, which includes the campaign's opening meeting between Zamalek and Al Ahly at the Cairo International Stadium. Kick-offs are in the evening, and dates may still be moved. The two-stage split is back for a third year running; last season, seven of the 21 clubs made it into the final group. After the Egyptian season, the continental Cup of Nations follows in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, between 19 June and 17 July 2027.
Moroccans in Egyptian football
Moroccan coach Hussein Ammouta has been in charge of Al Ahly, the country's most successful club, since his appointment on 15 June 2026; he won the 2017 CAF Champions League with Wydad AC. Mohamed Amine Benhachem, another Moroccan, coaches Modern Sport. Together with South Africa's Rhulani Mokwena at Pyramids, they are the league's only foreign head coaches.
Twelve Moroccan players were in squads when the season began. Al Ahly have four: Achraf Dari, Achraf Bencharki, Reda Slim and Soufiane Benjdida, who arrived this summer from MAS Fès, the 2025/26 Botola champions. Pyramids, runners-up last season, field Mohamed Chibi and Walid El Karti, Zamalek rely on Mahmoud Bentayg and Ceramica Cleopatra on Ahmed Belhadj. The winter window may still reshuffle these lists.
Betting on Egypt. Premier League from Morocco
Each game's pre-match menu offers the match outcome, double chance, goals, handicap lines and the option where both clubs score. The name of the champion can also be backed as a season bet, open until the last game of the final group in spring 2027, so an early pick covers both stages of the campaign. In the fourteen-club group, the fight to avoid the four relegation places gives every game something at stake as well.
While games are on, in-play football recalculates prices after every move, from the first whistle to the last. The Football section is also home to the Botola and Africa's club competitions, and the list of upcoming games can be combined into a single slip.
Deposits are made in dirhams (MAD) 💳, by CIH Bank or Al Barid Bank transfer, through Attijari's L'bankalik service, or in cash handed in at a Cash Plus agency. Registering on 1xBet opens up every Egyptian fixture of the season.