| بطولة كأس رابطة الأندية المحترفة 2023/24 | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Dates | 8 January – March 2024 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Defending champions | Ceramica Cleopatra |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 8 |
| Goals scored | 15 (1.88 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Ashraf Magdy (2 goals) |
| All statistics correct as of 10 January 2024. | |
The 2023–24 Egyptian League Cup is the third edition of the Egyptian League Cup, a cup knockout competition open to all clubs participating in the Egyptian Premier League. The competition will start on 8 January, and is expected to conclude in March 2024.
Ceramica Cleopatra are the defending champion, having won the previous tournament after beating Al Masry 4–1 in the final.[1]
Format
The format for the first edition of the competition was retained for this season. The tournament will start with a group stage involving all participating teams split into four groups of four teams each, with the winners and runners-up of each group advancing to the next round. This round will be played during the league's January/February break, due to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations taking place from 13 January to 11 February 2024.[2]
In the knockout stage, all fixtures are played on a neutral venue. If a match ends as a tie after 90 minutes, an extra time of 30 minutes will be played. If teams are still tied, penalties will be played to decide the winner.
The winners of the Egyptian League Cup will join the Egypt Cup winners and Egyptian Premier League winners and runners-up in the Egyptian Super Cup next season.
Tiebreakers
Teams are ranked according to points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). If two or more teams are tied on points, the following tiebreaking criteria are applied, in the order given, to determine the rankings:[3]
- Points in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
- Goal difference in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
- Goals scored in head-to-head matches among the tied teams;
- If more than two teams are tied, and after applying all head-to-head criteria above, a subset of teams still tied, all head-to-head criteria above are reapplied exclusively to this subset of teams;
- Goal difference in all group matches;
- Goals scored in all group matches;
- Draw of lots.
Prize money
On 11 September 2023, the prizes for the 2023–24 season were announced by the EPL. The winning team earn 1.5 million Egyptian pounds (LE), the runners-up receive 1 million LE, while the remaining 14 participating teams receive 100,000 LE. Any team that withdraws from the Egyptian League Cup will not receive the prizes for participation in the Egyptian Premier League, which are worth one million LE. If a team withdraws after the draw is held, an additional fine of one million LE will be applied.[4]
| Place | Teams | Amount (in LE) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per team | Total | ||
| Winners | 1 | 1.5m | 1.5m |
| Runners-up | 1 | 1m | 1m |
| 3rd–4th place (semi-finalists) | 2 | 100k | 200k |
| 5th–8th place (quarter-finalists) | 4 | 100k | 400k |
| 9th–16th place (group stage) | 8 | 100k | 800k |
| Total | 16 | 3.9m | |
Draw
The draw for the group stage was held at the Egyptian Football Association headquarters in Gezira, Cairo on 31 December 2023, 14:00 CAT.[5][6]
Al Ahly announced their withdrawal from the competition on 20 December 2023, citing injuries and tight schedule faced by the club in the last few weeks before the draw.[7] On 26 December 2023, Zamalek also announced that they will not participate in the competition for this season.[8]
Following the withdrawal of Al Ahly and Zamalek, the group stage was changed from three groups of six teams, to four groups of four teams. The 16 participating teams were separated into four pots, based on their league rankings in the previous season, except for the defending champions Ceramica Cleopatra, who topped pot 1.
| Pot | Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams |
Group stage
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baladiyat El Mahalla | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Al Ittihad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Modern Future | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | |
| 4 | Smouha | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| Baladiyat El Mahalla | 1–0 | Smouha |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Modern Future | 0–1 | Al Ittihad |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Al Ittihad | v | Baladiyat El Mahalla |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tala'ea El Gaish | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Pharco | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | Pyramids | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 4 | ZED | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| ZED | 0–1 | Tala'ea El Gaish |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ceramica Cleopatra | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | El Dakhleya | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Ismaily | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | |
| 4 | ENPPI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| El Dakhleya | 1–0 | Ismaily |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Ceramica Cleopatra | 2–0 | ENPPI |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | El Gouna | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Al Masry | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Al Mokawloon Al Arab | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | |
| 4 | National Bank of Egypt | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 0 |
Rules for classification: Group stage tiebreakers
| Al Masry | 1–0 | Al Mokawloon Al Arab |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| El Gouna | 3–1 | National Bank of Egypt |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Al Mokawloon Al Arab | v | El Gouna |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Knockout stage
Top scorers
- As of 10 January 2024
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[9] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ashraf Magdy |
El Gouna | 2 |
| 2 | 13 players | 1 | |
Notes
- ↑ The match will take place at Borg El Arab Stadium, Alexandria, instead of Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, due to security concerns.
References
- ↑ "Ceramica Cleopatra outclass Masry 4-1 to claim Egyptian League Cup title". Al Ahram Online. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ↑ "انطلاق مباريات كأس الرابطة 7 يناير واتجاه لتأجيل النهائي إلى مارس" [League Cup to kick-off on 7 January, final expected to take place in March]. Youm7 (in Arabic). 4 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ↑ "لائحة كأس الربطة 2023-2024" [2023/24 League Cup regulations] (PDF). Egyptian Pro League (in Arabic). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ↑ "غرامة الانسحاب أكبر من جائزة البطل.. لائحة بطولة كأس الرابطة المصرية" [2023–24 Egyptian League Cup regulations]. FilGoal (in Arabic). 11 September 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ↑ "تحديد موعد قرعة كأس الرابطة المصرية 2023-24" [2023–24 Egyptian League Cup draw date announced]. FilGoal (in Arabic). 28 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ↑ "كأس الرابطة - زد رفقة بيراميدز.. ومجموعات متوازنة لنسخة 2024" [2024 Egyptian League Cup draw: ZED with Pyramids as draw results in balanced groups]. FilGoal (in Arabic). 31 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ↑ "Al Ahly Coach Warns Players of Urawa Reds' Speed, Club Faces Potential Fine". BNN Breaking. 21 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ↑ "Zamalek Football Club Apologizes for Opting Out of 'League Cup'". BNN Breaking. 26 December 2023. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ↑ "كأس رابطة الأندية المصرية 2023/24 - ترتيب الهدافين" [2023/24 League Cup - Top goalscorers] (in Arabic). EPL. Retrieved 8 January 2024.