Sudanese Al-Hilal and Al-Merreikh advanced to the round of 32 in the African Champions League, after each of them won their match in the second leg of the preliminary round, on Saturday.
Al Hilal won 1-0 over its guest, Aigle Noir of Burundi, in the match held in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, thanks to a goal scored by Mauritanian striker Ahmed Mubarak in the first half.
Al Hilal thus advanced to the round of 32, after winning 3-0 on aggregate in the two preliminary round matches.
Al-Merreikh won 1-0 over its host Power Dynamos from Zambia, the same result as the first leg, to also advance to the round of 32.
News of the family crises related to the family of the Egyptian national team's technical director, Hossam Hassan, has gained attention and raised concern in the sports street, especially with the Egyptian national team's preparations for the qualifiers for the African Nations Championship.
Many “social” websites and pages have highlighted these stories recently, the most recent of which is the “network response” case brought against her by Hossam Hassan’s daughter’s fiancé, whose appeal is being heard on Saturday. Yara Hossam Hassan’s name topped the trend on Google in Egypt on Saturday.
The Family Court in the Fifth Settlement, (east of Cairo) on Saturday heard Yara Hossam Hassan’s appeal against the ruling issued in a lawsuit dated 2026 obligating her to return gold and diamond jewelry worth 3 million and 650 thousand pounds (one dollar equals about 51 Egyptian pounds), in addition to 41 thousand and 500 US dollars, in favor of the plaintiff Ahmed Ali Abdel Nabi, known as Ahmed Rashid. The court decided to postpone the case until next October 15.
This is the case in which the court had stated in the merits of its first ruling that the net is a movable property that falls within the ruling of a gift between the engaged couples and is not returned. However, it was reassured by what the plaintiff reported regarding the engagement being annulled by the defendant’s unilateral will without any error on his part. Which made the court order the return of the chain consisting of an 18-carat gold necklace weighing 67.30 grams, earrings, and diamond jewelry, according to the invoices shown in the lawsuit papers. The court was not satisfied with one of the invoices presented by the plaintiff, which was issued in the name of the defendant.
The plaintiff confirmed in the claim statement that the engagement was ended by the defendant, and that she kept the network and refused to return it to him, which prompted him to file a lawsuit to demand its return.
A few days ago, news circulated about Hossam Hassan’s second wife, Dan Adam, who wrote on Instagram that she intends to resort to the judiciary in her marriage to obtain her freedom. This came a few days after news of Hossam Hassan’s separation from his first wife, Howaida Al-Gharabawi, according to local media.
About a month ago, a quarrel occurred on the North Coast between Dan Adam, Hossam Hassan’s second wife, and his children from his first wife. During the quarrel, which was attended by “the Brigadier,” which is the title Hossam Hassan had previously obtained, he fainted, according to media reports at the time.
This comes at a time when the Egyptian national football team, led by Hossam Hassan, is preparing to begin its campaign in the qualifiers for the 2027 African Cup of Nations finals, where it will host Angola on September 25 in Egypt, and will be a guest on South Sudan in Juba at the end of the same month.
The Egyptian national team will begin a closed camp on September 17th at the National Teams Center in 6th of October City, in preparation for the two matches, and the technical staff is scheduled to announce the final list on September 16th.
Successive family crises sparked mixed reactions indicating concern in the sports community, and many criticized Hossam Hassan’s announcement of family problems and the interest in them on “social media” and on various websites, while some pointed out in “social” comments that Hossam Hassan had to choose between training the national team and his family problems and his wives’ disputes, but in the end he chose to devote himself to the national team.
Egyptian sports critic Ayman Haridy believes that “personal crises have a negative impact on the focus of public figures, and Hossam Hassan’s situation with his family is not far-fetched because he has captured the attention of fans and followers as he is a big star and responsible for the Egyptian national football team.”
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat, “(The Brigadier General) was exposed to a family crisis that raised many fears in the sports community about the negative effects before the next team gathers within days in preparation for the start of the qualifying campaign for the African Cup of Nations. Some believe that the crisis may make the team’s coach nervous at a time when the coach needs intense focus to choose the list and develop an appropriate program for future benefits, especially since the spotlight will be on the team after the strong performances it achieved during the last World Cup.”
Egyptian sports critic, Mohamed Al-Barami, believes that “the association of the name of the coach of the Egyptian national team with family crises like this, which appear in the media and (social media) on a daily basis, gives a bad signal. It is true that these are family matters, but constantly going out in public is embarrassing for Captain Hossam Hassan.
He added to Asharq Al-Awsat: “I hope, as I wished before, that Captain Hossam would keep these crises away from the media as much as possible, and what happens at home stays at home and is not a place for daily discussion, especially since he is in an important position and achieved good results in the World Cup.”
Former top scorer Jassim Al-Huwaidi criticized the process of selecting the Kuwaiti national team roster that will participate in the Gulf Football Cup (Gulf 27) scheduled for Saudi Arabia, starting on September 23, considering it “prepared in advance.”
The former Kuwaiti national team captain and head of the football staff at the Salmiya Club considered that announcing the preparation program before revealing the names of the players raises questions about the role of the technical staff in the selection process.
Al-Huwaidi, who won the Gulf Cup twice with Kuwait, told Agence France-Presse: “The list was prepared in advance, and the evidence is that the team’s preparation program was announced before the names of the players were announced. When this happens, it means that things were in order before the list was announced.”
Al-Huwaidi (53 years old) criticized some of the choices of the technical staff led by Portuguese Hélio Sousa, pointing out that his son Muhammad Al-Huwaidi and Fawaz Ayed, the Salmiya players, performed at remarkable levels in the first three rounds of the league, and they deserved, from his point of view, to be with the national team.
He explained: “Choosing some players despite not participating in any match raises questions, because the coach is supposed to choose based on what he saw on the field and the level of the players during the matches.”
The Kuwaiti national team is currently undergoing a training camp in the Qatari capital, Doha, which began on Wednesday, and includes a friendly match against Lusail of Qatar on Sunday, before heading to Jeddah on September 15 to complete its preparations until the start of the tournament, and will meet the Yemeni national team in a friendly match on the 18th.
The Gulf 27 draw placed Kuwait in the first group alongside Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Oman, where “Blue” begins its journey against the Saudi national team, while the second group includes Bahrain, the Emirates, Qatar, and Yemen.
Al-Huwaidi believes that Kuwait's task will not be easy. “The three teams have great experience in the tournament, and therefore the Kuwaiti team needs great focus in order to compete for qualification” to the semi-finals.
Al-Huwaidi nominated the Saudi team to win the title, saying: “The Saudi team remains one of the strongest teams in the region, even if it is no longer at the same level as it was during the past years.”
He added: “Saudi Arabia has distinguished players and great experience in such tournaments, and I believe that it is capable of reaching the final match and competing strongly for the title.”
Regarding Kuwait’s chances, Al-Huwaidi said: “Blue can compete, but it must benefit from every match and deal with the tournament differently, because the Gulf Cup has its own calculations, and the differences between the teams are often limited.”
