Al Ahly Nears Landmark Youth Academy Deal with Ajax

Advanced negotiations are underway between Al Ahly and Dutch giants Ajax Amsterdam for what would be one of the most significant technical partnerships in the Egyptian club's history, centered on restructuring and developing its youth academy. Board member and football supervisor Sayed Abdel Hafiz is currently in the Netherlands to put the final touches on the anticipated cooperation protocol, following a series of intensive meetings with club vice president Yassin Mansour as part of a comprehensive plan to rebuild Al Ahly's football system.

According to sources within the club, the project extends beyond mere expertise exchange. It includes direct technical supervision by Ajax over youth sector development, a complete overhaul of talent scouting methods, coach qualification programs, and the implementation of modern training curricula based on the renowned Dutch school. The initiative also covers the development of the junior and reserve teams, linking them more closely with the first team.

These moves are part of a new vision led by Mahmoud El Khatib in collaboration with Yassin Mansour and Sayed Abdel Hafiz to completely restructure the football sector. This comes after criticism over Al Ahly's heavy reliance on external transfers in recent years, at the expense of promoting homegrown talent from the club's own ranks.

Reports indicate Al Ahly is also studying the use of additional foreign expertise in the youth and junior sectors, alongside creating a more advanced scouting system to discover players within Egypt and abroad. The plan also involves granting former club stars and homegrown players technical and administrative roles within the sector.

Abdel Hafiz is expected to return to Cairo in the coming hours after finalizing the agreement's details, paving the way for an official announcement of a project that could mark a major turning point in the future of Al Ahly's youth academy.