The Egypt Cup is the oldest tournament in the history of
Egyptian football that is still being held to-date, and it is the first competition to be organized by the
Egyptian Football Association. However, it is not the first football tournament to be held in the country. The first local football tournament in Egypt was the
Sultan Hussein Cup. It was launched in 1917, and its last edition was held in the 1937–38 season. The Sultan Hussein Cup witnessed the participation of Egyptian clubs with clubs belonging to the British army, which was present in Egypt at the time. With the establishment of the Egyptian Football Association in 1921, the need arose to launch a tournament with only Egyptian clubs participating, and from this time the Egypt Cup tournament emerged with the participation of
Zamalek,
Al Ahly,
Tersana,
Olympic, Schools team, Railway, Al-Abbasiya,
Al Ittihad, Al-Haditha, and the Nile. squad, winners of the first edition in
1922 Zamalek achieved the title of the first edition of the Egypt Cup, after defeating
Al Ittihad; 5–0 in the
1922 final match.
Tersana won the second edition in 1923, followed by Al Ahly in 1924. The first Cairo derby between Zamalek and Al Ahly to be played in the final was in the 1928 edition which Al Ahly won by a score of 1–0, winning goal scored by Mamdouh Sakr. The
1930–31 edition saw Al Ahly winning Zamalek in the final by a score of 4–1. The next year in the
1932 final between Zamalek and Al Ahly, Zamalek retaliated and defeated Al Ahly by a score of 2–1, winners goals were scored by
Ismail Raafat, Said El-Hadary and Amin Shoeir scored for Al Ahly. In the 1934–35 edition, the final was held on 10 May 1935. The match was again contested by
Zamalek and
Al Ahly, with Zamalek winning by a score of 3–0, goals were scored by
Helmy Zamora, El-Samkary and Marei. The biggest win in the
1944 final match between the Cairo giants; Zamalek and Al Ahly with a 6–0 win for Zamalek, goals scored by
Zoklot (
hat-trick), Mohsen El-Sehaimi (2 goals) and
Abdel-Karim Sakr. This was the second
Cairo Derby in two years to end with a 6–0 win for Zamalek after the
1941–42 Cairo League match. After this huge score for Zamalek, Al Ahly won three consecutive titles in (1945, 1946, 1947), however, they didn't meet Zamalek in the final. Zamalek dominated the 1950s, as the Cairo giants won seven titles between the years of 1952 to 1962, starting from
1952,
1955, followed by four consecutive titles in (
1957,
1958 (title shared with Al Ahly),
1959,
1960) and finally in
1962. In 1958, and 1959, Zamalek claimed their title from Al Ahly, who won the 1961 title after winning
El Qanah 5–0 in the final, the next year, Zamalek also claimed their title by winning
Al Ittihad by a score of 5–1 in the
final. From 1962 to 1976, Zamalek and Al Ahly only won one title each, as
El Qanah,
Tersana and
Al Ittihad dominated this era. However, Zamalek won the
1975,
1977, and
1979 titles, with Al Ahly claiming their title from their rivals in the 1978 final. In the early 1980s, Al Ahly dominated the championship, they won the 1981, 1983, 1984 and 1985. Followed by the final and sixth title for Tersana in 1986, before Zamalek winning their 18th title in the
1988 edition after nine years from their last title. In the 1990s, the tournament saw the Cairo derby in the final for the first time in 14 years, after Al Ahly won Zamalek by a score of 2–1 in the 1992 final. This decade saw new champions, as
Ismaily won their first title in the 1997 edition after defeating Al Ahly by a score of 1–0 in the final, followed by
Al Masry in 1998 after defeating
Al Mokawloon in the final. Despite its launch more than 100 years ago, the Egypt Cup has witnessed the holding of 90 editions so far, and has been canceled on more than one occasion. The tournament was canceled in the 1942–43 season, after players from Zamalek and Al-Ahly (the final belligerents) were suspended after their travel to
Palestine, and opposition to the Football Association’s decision in this regard. The tournament was not played between 1967 and 1971 due to the
War of Attrition, and it was canceled in the 1973–74 season due to the
October War. For several other reasons, the tournament was canceled in 1979–80, 1986–87 and 1993–94 seasons, and was canceled in the 1981–82 edition due to Zamalek’s dispute with the Football Association. The cup was also canceled in the 2011–12 season after the
Port Said Stadium riot in the
league match between
Al-Masry and
Al-Ahly. ==List of finals==