AL Masry

Establishment and Early years

Founded on 18 March 1920 by a group of Egyptians in Port Said, it was the first club for Egyptians in a Cosmoplitan city that already had many clubs for the foreign communities living there. The idea of creating a club for Egyptians was one of the manifestations of the 1919 Egyptian revolution against the British occupation.

The first board of directors of the club was headed by Ahmed Hosni, Secretary General of the Municipal Council in Port Said. The board of directors comprised a group of Egyptians from the city’s notables, without any foreign member. It was taken into account that the formation of the board of directors reflected the representation of all Egyptians, both Muslims and Christians, to emphasize the nature of the club as a gathering entity for all spectrums of national identity, and the founding fathers of the club chose “Al Masry” which means in "The Egyptian" as a name for the club to emphasize this idea.

The founding members of Al Masry inspired the club's name from the famous national song Oum Ya Masry "Arise Egyptian" of Sayed Darwish. They also derived the color of Al Masry's green jersey from the green Flag of Egypt that the revolutionaries raised during the 1919 revolution for the first time. Al Masry began its activities by playing against Egyptian and foreign teams in the Canal region, the matches against foreign teams was full of enthusiasm that led to the increase of Al Masry's popularity to be the most popular team in Port Said. The club also contributed with some other Egyptian clubs to the establishment of the Egyptian Football Association in 1921.

In February 2012 the Port Said Stadium disaster took place, where rioting Masry fans caused the deaths of 72 rival fans, and hundreds of injuries. 69 Masry fans were convicted, with 26 receiving the death penalty, and numerous others receiving life sentences.

After the riots, the remainder of the 2011–12 Egyptian Premier League season was cancelled by the Egyptian Football Association. Al Masry decided to refrain from competing in the 2012–13 season as a sign of respect to the relatives of the victims of the disaster, although it obtained a decision from the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) confirming the club's right to participate in the Egyptian Premier League and all other activities of the Egyptian Football Association. Nevertheless, 2012–13 season was not completed and was cancelled due to the political situation in Egypt.

Al Masry resumed participation in the Egyptian Premier League in the 2013–14 season; the club suffered from inconsistent performance and results for two consecutive seasons, although it maintained its position in the Egyptian Premier League. Al Masry started the 2015–16 season under the coaching of the Egyptian former player of the team Hossam Hassan, who adopted a new policy depending on youth and unknown players. That season the team came in at fourth place in the Egyptian Premier League and succeeded to qualify to the CAF Confederation Cup after 14 years of absence from African completions.