Ahly's former Boss Hassan Hamdy (R) with his vice-president Mamoud 'Bebo' El-Khatib Bebo (Al-Ahram)
Egyptian football icon Mahmoud "Bebo" El-Khatib has revealed his intention to run for the presidency of Ahly club in elections due to take place before 30 November.
"I have decided, along with some of my colleagues, to run in the upcoming Ahly club board membership and presidency elections," Bebo told journalists in a statement on Tuesday.
The 62-year-old, one of the all-time best Ahly and Egypt players, said that he had been asked by "Ahly members and fans" to save the club's "values and principles".
Bebo was voted the Arab Sportsman of the 20th Century and is the only Egyptian to win the African Player of the Year awarded at the time by French magazine France Football.
He is Ahly's former vice-president and the first nominee in the elections and is expected to run, in November, against the current president Mahmoud Taher.
He inspired Ahly to win a series of domestic and continental trophies back in the 1970s and 1980s, including 10 Egyptian league titles, five Egypt Cups, two African Champions Leagues and three African Cup winners.
Ahly's general assembly recently drafted its own election bylaw, but these were rejected by the Egyptian Olympic Committee due to procedural issues.
The current club president, Mahmoud Taher, was elected in 2014. A court ruling dissolved the elected board last year, but it was reinstated temporarily pending new elections, putting Taher back in charge.
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