Al-Ahli's Loss Ends Saudi Dominance Against African Clubs

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Al-Ahli Saudi's loss to South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns 2-1 on Saturday, in the Club World Cup, ended the dominance of Saudi teams in their encounters against their African counterparts in international tournaments.

Al-Ahli entered the eighth match between Saudi and African clubs in the Club World Cup and the Club World Cup, after Saudi teams achieved four victories against three losses in the previous seven encounters, before Sundowns equalized the score, making it four victories for each side.

The encounters between Saudi clubs and their African counterparts in international tournaments began in 2000, when Al-Nassr defeated Morocco's Raja 4-3 in the first edition of the Club World Cup, followed by Al-Ittihad's victory over Egypt's Al-Ahli 1-0 in 2005, and then Al-Hilal's win over Tunisia's Esperance by the same score in 2019.

The first Saudi loss to an African team came when Al-Hilal lost to Egypt's Al-Ahli 4-0 in the third-place match of the Club World Cup 2021, before Al-Hilal overcame Morocco's Wydad on penalties in the 2022 edition.

In subsequent encounters, Egypt's Al-Ahli defeated Al-Ittihad 3-1 in the Club World Cup 2023, and then Egypt's Pyramids won against Al-Ahli Saudi by the same score in the Club World Cup 2025.

With Al-Ahli's loss to Sundowns, the tally of the eight encounters between Saudi and African clubs in the two tournaments stands at four victories against four defeats.