President of Egyptian club Zamalek, Mortada Mansour has confirmed that his team will not travel to Qatar to play CAF Champions League holders Esperance of Tunisia in February’s African Super Cup.
The annual match brings together the winners of the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup.
Egypt was one of the middle eastern nations that severed diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing it of destabilizing the region. Last year CAF decided that the Super Cup would be played in Qatar until 2021, rather than the tradition of the Champions League winners hosting the match.
But speaking at a press conference, Mortada added that the club would change its stance if ordered to do so by the Egyptian government.
“We are two African teams, why should we play in Asia?” he questioned at a press conference.
“I don’t understand why Caf wants to play the Super Cup in a country who is an enemy to Egypt.
“Zamalek board members discussed the issue and decided not to play in Qatar. I am disappointed that Esperance have agreed to play there.”
“At the end of the day it is up to the Egyptian authorities if they want to reverse the decision and if they have another opinion we will respect that,” he added.