New soccer stadium seals marriage between Gulf capital and Egyptian crony capitalism
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A one-time revolutionary Egyptian force, the storied Egyptian soccer club Al Ahly FC is today the latest Emirati trophy in regional competition between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and a potential symbol of Egyptian crony capitalism.
Al Ahly's engagement with Saudi Arabia initially and more recently with the UAE is a far cry from its founding in the early 20th century as an anti-monarchical club whose supporters played an important part in the 1919 anti-British revolution that paved the way for Egyptian independence three years later.
More recently, militant Al Ahly fans played a key part in the 2011 popular revolt that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
