Egyptian Premier League
The Egyptian Premier League is a professional association football league in Egypt and the top level of the Egyptian football league system. The league comprises 18 teams since the 2015–16 season and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Egyptian Second Division. Seasons mostly run from August to May. Unlike most other leagues, all games are played all over the week. All of the Egyptian Premier League clubs qualify for the Egypt Cup. The winner of the Egyptian Premier League qualifies for the Egyptian Super Cup.
70 clubs have competed in the Egyptian Premier League since its founding in 1948. Al Ahly have won the title 41 times, more than any other club. Only six other clubs have won the league before; those clubs are Ghazl El Mahalla, Ismaily, Al Mokawloon Al Arab, Olympic Club, Tersana and Zamalek.
The Egyptian Premier League is one of the top national leagues, ranked third in Africa according to CAF's 5-Year Ranking for the 2019–20 season, based on performances in African competitions over the past five seasons.
The Egyptian Premier League used to be one of the leagues with the highest average stadium attendance in Africa and the Middle East until the Port Said Stadium riot occurred on 1 February 2012 after a league match involving Al Masry and Al Ahly, where 74 people were killed and more than 500 were injuired. Since that date, all domestic football matches were played behind closed doors until 2017, when the local security authorities started to allow fans to attend selected matches with gradually increasing numbers starting from 100 attendance only.
Competition format and sponsorship
Competition
There are 18 clubs in the Egyptian Premier League. The season lasts from August to May. During the course of the season, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 34 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then the direct confrontation, then goal difference, and then goals scored.At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned champion. If points are equal, the direct confrontation, the goal difference and then goals scored determine the winner. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Division II League, and the top three teams from the three groups into the Division II league, together, are promoted in their place.
Sponsorship
The Egyptian Premier League has been sponsored since 2005. The sponsor has been able to determine the league's sponsorship name. The list below details who the sponsors have been and what they called the competition:- 2005–07: Vodafone Egyptian Premier League
- 2007–11: Etisalat Egyptian Premier League
- 2011–14: Vodafone Egyptian Premier League
- 2014–present: Egyptian Premier League
Media coverage
Clubs
A total of 66 clubs have played in the Egyptian Premier League from its inception in 1948–49 up to and including the 2017–18 season. But only two clubs have been members of the Egyptian Premier League for every season since its inception. These are Al Ahly and Zamalek, meanwhile Al-Ittihad and Al Masry have been absent only for two seasons of the League since its inception.Members for 2019–20
The following 18 clubs are competing in the Egyptian Premier League as of the 2017–18 season.- Ahly
- Pyramids FC
- Al Masry
- El Gouna
- El Dakhleya
- El Entag El Harby
- El Geish
- Al Mokawloon
- Al-Ittihad
- Aswan SC+
- ENPPI
- Ismaily
- Misr El Makasa
- FC Masr+
- Smouha
- Tanta+
- Wadi Degla
- Zamalek
Stadiums
Current stadiums
List of seasons
The following table provides a summary of seasons:Performance
Performance by club
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Third places | Winning Seasons |
| Al Ahly | 41 | 11 | 3 | 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53,1953–54, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1978–79, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1988–89, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 |
| Zamalek | 12 | 33 | 9 | 1959–60, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1977–78, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2014–15 |
| Ismaily | 3 | 6 | 17 | 1966–67, 1990–91, 2001–02 |
| Tersana | 1 | 5 | 7 | 1962–63 |
| Ghazl El Mahalla | 1 | 1 | 5 | 1972–73 |
| El Olympi | 1 | – | 2 | 1965–66 |
| Al Mokawloon | 1 | – | 1 | 1982–83 |
| ENPPI | – | 1 | 2 | |
| Smouha | – | 1 | 1 | |
| Misr Lel Makasa | – | 1 | – | |
| Al Masry | – | – | 5 | |
| El Qannah | – | – | 2 | |
| El Ittihad El Sakndary | – | – | 2 | |
| El Mansoura | – | – | 1 | |
| Haras El Hodoud | – | – | 1 | |
| Petrojet | – | – | 1 |
Performance by city
Doubles
Two teams have won the double of the Egyptian Premier League and the Egypt Cup.| Club | Number | Seasons |
| Al Ahly | 1948–49, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1980–81, 1984–85, 1988–89, 1995–96, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2016–17 | |
| Zamalek | 1959–60, 1987–88, 2014–15 |
Top goalscorers
All seasons top goalscorers
All time top goalscorers
Last updated 11 March 2020.| No. | Player | Teams | Goals |
| 1 | Hassan El-Shazly | Tersana | 176 |
| 2 | Hossam Hassan | Al Ahly / Zamalek / Al Masry / Tersana / El Ittihad El Sakandary | 168 |
| 3 | Moustafa Reyadh | Tersana | 123 |
| 4 | El-Sayed El-Dhizui | Al Masry / Al Ahly | 112 |
| 5 | Mahmoud El Khatib | Al Ahly | 109 |
| 6 | Ahmed El-Kass | El Olympi / Zamalek / El Ittihad El Sakandary | 107 |
| 7 | Mohamed Aboutrika | Tersana / Al Ahly | 106 |
| 8 | Abdallah Said | Ismaily / Al Ahly / Pyramids | 104 |
| 9 | Gamal Abdel-Hameed | Al Ahly / Zamalek | 101 |