Spanish
Cairo, June 2 (EFE) - The Egyptian Pyramids FC, which was proclaimed African champion for the first time this Sunday, is a young club - created in 2018 by Saudi sheikh Turki Al-Sheikh, current owner of UD Almería - that has become the fourth team in the country to reach continental glory after Al Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaily.
The club was founded in 2008 as Al Assiouty Sport in Beni Seuf, a city located 100 kilometers south of Cairo. It won Group A of the Second Division in the 2016-17 season and was promoted to the Premier League, the Egyptian first division.
In the summer of 2018, the president of the Saudi Sports Authority and current owner of Almería, bought the team and completely transformed it, investing 60 million euros. The name changed to Pyramids FC and it moved to Cairo.
Al-Sheikh entered Egyptian football in 2018 with Al Ahly, the biggest club in the country's history, the most decorated in Africa and the current league champion, which received funding from the sheikh, appointed honorary president.
However, the owner of Almería resigned in May of that year after a disagreement with the board of directors - only five months after taking office - and decided to buy his own club, over which he would have total control, with the aim of dominating the African continent.
Only in the 2018/2019 season, it invested 40 million euros in signings, an unusual figure in continental football, and began the year with a marketing campaign that asked fans of the two big teams in Cairo (Al-Ahly and Zamalek): "Change your principles, support Pyramids".
They offered 10,000 Egyptian pounds (about 176 euros) per month to anyone who became a member of the club. In addition, they created a television channel that obtained the rights to several matches of the Egyptian league and John Terry, Chelsea legend, appeared as a commentator in the first match.
During the season that Al-Sheikh was at the helm of the club, the country maintained the ban on attending football matches following the event known as the Port Said Stadium disaster, a confrontation between fans in which 75 people died in 2012, during a match between Al-Ahly and Al-Masry.
As a result, between 2012 and 2021, most football matches in Egypt have been held without spectators, except for certain national team matches and international tournaments.
Despite this campaign, the interest of Cairo residents in the club has been scarce, and although the attendance of fans at the stadiums is now allowed, the stands of Pyramids remain practically empty every weekend.
In their first season with the new name, the Cairo team finished the Egyptian Premier League in third place, and reached the final of the Egyptian Cup, where they lost 3-0 to Zamalek.
In July 2019, less than a year after the purchase by Al-Sheikh, Emirati businessman Salem Al Shamsi acquired ownership of the club. Pyramids FC has since managed to establish itself as the third-best team in Egypt, always finishing in the top three, although without winning any title until this Sunday.
On Thursday, June 5th, they have the opportunity to expand their newly unveiled trophy case in the final of the Egyptian Cup that they will play against Zamalek. This, added to the second place achieved in the league, already makes the current season the most successful for the club to date.
