club president Labib. Photo: Screenshot from official Zamalek X account
The Cairo giants served a FIFA-imposed transfer ban last year stemming from unpaid dues to clubs and players.
The ban prevented the team from signing any new players during the summer transfer window.
“We promised to solve this issue which was one of the most difficult topics that we worked on in the last period as the club was asked to pay $2.5 million in a difficult time, but all parties united to help Zamalek,” Labib, who was elected as Zamalek’s new president last October, told the club’s TV channel.
“The club was facing 14 cases and we expected that the dues were only just $1.8 million but finally the trio who were responsible for solving the issue did the job perfectly on time,” he added.
Capitalizing on the lifted ban, the new management under Labib recruited players during the winter transfer window, signing ten new faces in an attempt to restore the team's winning ways.
“We were criticized for signing ten players in the same position, but we should clarify that while we were working on the new deals we were taking into consideration that the transfer ban could be renewed within two or three months the cases of former striker Khalid Boutaib and former coach Jaime Pacheco are not over yet,” the Zamalek president explained.
After finishing third in the Egyptian Premier League last year, Zamalek currently sit in 11th place with 15 points from ten matches, 11 points behind leaders Enppi who played four additional games.
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