Reprieve for Al Ahly players as wages to remain intact despite Coronavirus

Ahly’s players will not take pay cuts in the next four months despite the suspesion of all competitions on the back of the coronavirus spread, the Egyptian giants announced on Tuesday .

A number of Egyptian Premier League clubs have slashed their players’ wages, including Arab Contractors and Ittihad of Alexandria amid calls for an initiative to mitigate the pandemic impact on the sports landscape.

Ahly’s board believes the Cairo club can shoulder the pressure at least on the short term.

“The board reviewed the club’s resources in light of the current suspension and the club’s large monthly commitments and decided the following: Pay the entire salaries of employees and workers at the club so they can fulfill their needs and commitments in these hard circumstances, especially with the arrival of the holy month of Ramadan.” 

“Pay the entire wages of players and all staff members in all sports for the next four months starting from 1 April to 1 July,” reads a statement on Ahly’s website .

Ahly’s board will assess the situation again after this period .

Ahly are one of the wealthiest clubs in Egypt. Their budget for the 2018/2019 fiscal year stands at EGP 2 billion with EGP 322 million budget surplus.

The Reds inked in 2018 a record sponsorship deal of EGP 510 million with Presentation for four years. They have also signed a EGP 400 million broadcasting deal, the biggest among Egyptian clubs, that runs from 2018 to 2012.

Football in Egypt has been suspended since mid-march, with several measures taken by the government, including a night-time curfew, to stem the spread of the coronavirus.

The Egyptian Football Association said their top priority is to resume the season, yet they are open to all scenarios.

Egypt has recorded a total of 3,490 infections including 264 fatalities until Tuesday .

($1 = EGP15.79 according to the Central Bank of Egypt on Tuesday)