This season was the first to be played according to the new calendar, as per the decision of the CAF Executive Committee on 20 July 2017.[6][7] The match was initially scheduled on 16, 17 or 18 August 2019, but was postponed.[8] The CAF announced on 21 November 2019 that the match would be played on 14 February 2020 in Doha, Qatar.[9][10]
The match was played in the Middle Eastern country for the second consecutive season, after signing a three-year agreement with the CAF the previous season.[11]Zamalek announced in November 2019 that they would not play the match in Qatar due to the Qatar diplomatic crisis.[12] However, the club's board voted in February 2020 to play in the match.[13]
Zamalek won the match 3–1, winning their fourth CAF Super Cup title.[14]
The CAF Super Cup is played as a single match at a neutral venue, with the CAF Champions League winners designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes. If the score is tied at the end of regulation, extra time will not be played, and the penalty shoot-out will be used to determine the winner (CAF Champions League Regulations XXVII and CAF Confederation Cup Regulations XXV).[15][16]
This was the seventh meeting between both teams in African competition. All of their previous six encounters were in the Champions League, including the 1994 final which was won by Espérance de Tunis where they grabbed their only victory against Zamalek in the second leg. The rest of the meetings resulted in two wins for Zamalek, including an away win in 2005, and three draws between the two teams.
Pre-match
Nine days before the match, the 2019–20 CAF Champions League knockout stage draw was held at the Hilton Pyramids Golf in Cairo, Egypt and resulted in Zamalek being drawn against Espérance de Tunis; meaning that both teams would face each other three times in three weeks.[19]
Prior to their league game against US Tataouine, Espérance de Tunis announced that defender Abdelkader Bedrane has suffered from a torn ligament and would be sidelined for at least three weeks, missing the CAF Super Cup as a result.[20]
Zamalek captain Mahmoud Shikabala suffered from an injury during training with the club in January 2020 and was still in the recovery stage. He was included by Patrice Carteron in the club's traveling squad to Qatar, but did not appear in the starting eleven or on the bench.[21]
Match
Officials
On 10 February 2020, CAF named SouthAfrican referee Victor Gomes as the referee for the match. Gomes is considered one of Africa's finest referees and consistently appeared in all CAF major competitions since 2013. His compatriot Zakhele Siwela was chosen as one of the assistant referees, along with Mosotho official Souru Phatsoane, while Maguette N'Diaye of Senegal was chosen as the fourth official.[1] Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe was named the video assistant referee and was assisted by Mustapha Ghorbal from Algeria and Gerson Emiliano dos Santos from Angola.[22]
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