Mustafa Azzam, Secretary General of the Egyptian Football Association, explained the reason for the African Football Confederation (CAF) rejecting the proposal to increase the number of clubs in continental tournaments.
It was revealed FilGoal.com that Patrice Motsepe informed the President of the African Confederation (CAF), Hani Abu Rida, President of the Egyptian Federation, of the difficulty of implementing the proposal to increase the number of African clubs in the next season 2026-27. (See details)
The Secretary General of the Egyptian Football Association said on CBC channel: "Hani Abu Rida asked me to send a proposal to CAF to increase the number of clubs in continental tournaments one week after the start of the World Cup, that is, two weeks before the decision was announced".
He added, "A week ago I received a letter from the CAF Secretary General that the proposal had been carefully studied, but logistical and organizational conditions prevent its implementation next season and they will try to implement it in the 2027-28 season".
He concluded, "CAF's postponement of the deadline for sending the names of participating teams until July 25 instead of June 30 caused them several problems with the change in the names of participating clubs during that period".
A source from CAF told FilGoal.com: "Motsepe informed Hani Abu Rida of the difficulty of increasing the number of clubs in continental competitions next season due to lack of time and the difficulty of implementing the proposal".
He explained, "The CAF President preferred to inform Abu Rida himself and clarified to him that the proposal's possibility of implementation in the 2027-28 season will be studied".
Egypt submitted a request to CAF to increase the number of participating clubs in the African Champions League and the Confederation Cup.
A statement from the Egyptian Football Association revealed, "The share of some federations, according to the applicable classification criteria, can rise to 3 clubs in the African Champions League and 3 clubs in the African Confederation Cup, provided that the additional clubs' participation begins from the preliminary rounds".
Then Patrice Motsepe, President of CAF, requested that Hani Abu Rida's request, President of the Egyptian Football Association, be raised to the Supreme Committee to discuss increasing the number of participating teams in the Champions League and Confederation Cup.
Participating from Egypt in the African Champions League are Zamalek and Pyramids, and in the Confederation Cup are Al Ahly and ZED, as the Football Association revealed in its statement yesterday, Saturday. (See details)
In contrast, Wydad will be absent from African competitions for the first time since 2015 after finishing fifth last season.
