Egypt makes history as fourth club lifts TotalEnergies CAF Champions League
Published: Sunday, 01 June 2025
Pyramids FC were crowned champions of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League for the first time on Sunday night after a commanding 2-1 victory over South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns in Cairo, securing a 3-2 aggregate win.
In doing so, Pyramids became the fourth Egyptian club to lift Africa's most prestigious club trophy — joining the elite company of Al Ahly, Zamalek, and Ismaily — and making Egypt the first nation in African football history to produce four different continental champions.
The Cairo-based side capitalised on their home advantage at the Air Defense Stadium with a focused and clinical performance that saw them dominate from start to finish.
Having earned a dramatic 1-1 draw in the first leg in Pretoria — thanks to Walid El Karti's 95th-minute equaliser after Lucas Ribeiro Costa had given Sundowns the lead — Pyramids returned home knowing that any win would secure their maiden title.
They wasted little time. In the first half, Fiston Mayele, leading the line with composure, broke the deadlock with a precise finish after a well-worked move that sliced open Sundowns' defence.
In the second half, defender Ahmed Samy put the result beyond doubt, rising highest to head home the second goal — triggering jubilant celebrations in the Egyptian capital.
Iqraam Rayners pulled one back late on for Sundowns with a composed finish from the centre of the box, it wasn't enough to derail the Egyptian side's determined charge to glory.
The Egyptian club completed a 3-2 aggregate victory over the South African giants, adding their name to a distinguished list of champions and becoming Egypt's fourth club — after Al Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaily — to win the coveted continental title.
For head coach Krunoslav Jurisic, the triumph marks a crowning moment after guiding the club through a difficult route to the final.
Following the first leg, Jurisic had praised his side's character, declaring that they were 'fighting alone' without much domestic support — a narrative now overturned by continental glory.
Pyramids' journey to the final was one built on resilience, tactical discipline, and timely goals — a stark reminder that they are no longer outsiders in African football, but a new continental powerhouse.
Sundowns, despite dominating large stretches of the first leg and possessing the pedigree of 2016 champions, were undone by their missed chances and lapses in concentration across both legs.
With the trophy lifted in Cairo, Egypt now boasts 19 total CAF Champions League titles, and Pyramids FC — once viewed as an ambitious project — have earned their place among the continent's elite.
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