In the final at the Borg Al-Arab Stadium in Alexandria, Mohamed Antar gave Ceramica a lead they would not relinquish, in only the sixth minute. Four minutes later, Salah Mohsen doubled the lead, reports Alaa Abdel-Ghani.

In the 53rd minute, substitute Hossam Greisha pulled one back for Masri but Mohamed Shokri’s 35-yard strike returned Ceramica’s two-goal advantage.

Nigeria’s Samuel Amadi made it 4-1 late in the game.

It was the first ever title for Ceramica Cleopatra which was founded in 2007 and promoted to the Premier League in 2020.

This season marked the second edition of the Egyptian League Cup, born last year during the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroun. Egypt was participating in the tournament, leading to the suspension of the league for one month.

During that time, with the aim of increasing the revenues of Egyptian clubs and sharpening the competitiveness between them, the League Cup made its maiden appearance.

Future FC won the inaugural version after beating Ghazl Al-Mahalla 5-1 in the final.

The first edition consisted of a group stage and knockout phase. Starting this year, the format was changed to a standard knockout arrangement played throughout the season.

The competition, now the third tier football tournament in Egypt following the Premier League and Egypt Cup, is open to all 18 clubs participating in the league.

But it has not always been taken seriously by the big clubs. Ahly withdrew from this year’s edition while Pyramids and Zamalek were eliminated in the knockout stage. The three clubs finished in that order at the top of this season’s league table.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 27 July, 2023 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly