The competition started on 31 October 2023 with the first preliminary round of the qualifying phase, and will conclude with the final, which is expected to be played in the last quarter of 2024. Al Ahly are the defending champions.[1]
The Egypt Cup begin with a round of 32 teams. The 18 teams of the Egyptian Premier League, along with the 14 winning teams that qualified from the third preliminary round of the qualifying rounds.
The 32 participating teams were separated into 3 pots. Pot 1 included the 15th placed team from the previous season of the Egyptian Premier League, alongside the 3 promoted teams from the 2022–23 Egyptian Second Division, Pot 2 included the top 14 teams from the previous season of the Egyptian Premier League, and Pot 3 included all 14 teams who qualified to the competition through the qualifying rounds.
Teams from Pot 1 were drawn against each other, while teams from Pot 2 were drawn against teams from Pot 3.
Usually, the Egypt Cup defending champions and the Egyptian Premier League winners are placed in different paths, so both teams could face each other only in the final. However, since Al Ahly won both the cup and the league last season, they were placed in the upper (league) path, while the league runners-up, Zamalek, were placed in the lower (cup) path.[6]
Teams meet in one game per round. Matches take place for 90 minutes, with two-halves of 45 minutes. If tied after regulation, 30 minutes of extra time are played, consisting of two periods of 15 minutes. If the score is still level after this, the match is decided by a penalty shoot-out. A coin toss decides who takes the first penalty. A total of nine players are allowed to be listed on the substitute bench, with up to five substitutions being allowed during regulation, and a further sixth is allowed in extra time.
In the round of 32, matches are hosted by the teams drawn first. Starting from the round of 16, all matches are played on venues selected by the Egyptian Football Association.
The winners of the Egypt Cup earns automatic qualification for the 2024–25 CAF Confederation Cup. In case they already qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup or CAF Champions League through their position in the Egyptian Premier League, then the spot goes to the cup runners-up. If the cup runners-up also qualified for a CAF competition through their league position, then the spot is given to the fourth-placed team in the league. Should the competition be not finished by the CAF deadline for associations to submit teams participating in next season's African competitions, the spot awarded to the cup winners would be passed also to the fourth-placed team in the league.
The following is the bracket which the Egypt Cup resembles. Numbers in parentheses next to the match score represent the results of a penalty shoot-out.
^ abcRound of 32 fixtures involving Al Ahly, Pyramids and Zamalek, originally scheduled to be played between 29 and 31 May 2024, were postponed after at least three players were called up from each team by their respective national teams for upcoming international matches.[7][8]
Favour Akem
Hossam Hassan