In an official letter to the Egyptian Football Association (EFA), Ahly club management cited a tight games' schedules and the succession of various Egyptian league seasons as reasons.

The club management highlighted in its letter to the EFA that the domestic competition will end on 15 July - only five days before the Arab Club Champions Cup is set to start on 20 July.

The team needs enough time to prepare for the new domestic season that starts on 1 September, the letter stressed.

Egypt will still be represented in the tournament by the Egyptian Premier League (EPL) champions Zamalek and Talae El-Geish, who received an official invitation after they finished fourth in the EPL last year.

AS Arta Solar 7 club from Djibouti, Fahman Abyan club from Yemen, Horseed SC from Somalia, and Volcan Club Moroni from Comoros will participate in the preliminary round of the tournament, according to the Arab Federation.

(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)