Egyptian club Al Ahly ban star striker Abou Ali from training camp
JOHANNESBURG: Star striker Wessam Abou Ali from Egyptian club Al Ahly has shunned pre-season medical checks and skipped training in a row reportedly linked to his desire for a transfer from the Cairo club. In other African football news, Brazil-born Mamelodi Sundowns striker Lucas Ribeiro has been nominated for several end-of-season South African awards. A rift has developed between Abou Ali, one of only two scorers of a hat-trick at the 2025 Club World Cup, and record 12-time African champions Al Ahly. It has led to recently appointed Spanish coach Jose Riveiro excluding the Denmark-born Palestine international from a pre-season camp in Tunisia. While Abou Ali wants to leave the Red Devils, no interested club has matched the reported selling price of $12 million (EUR10.3 mn) set by the record 12-time African champions. Ribeiro is among three nominees for the footballer of the season and players’ player of the season awards in South Africa, with the winners to be named on July 29. His rivals in both categories are two other forward, Relebohile Mofokeng of Orlando Pirates and Keletso Makgalwa from Sekhukhune United. Ribeiro, 26, joined champions Sundowns from Belgian club Beveren in 2023 and scored an outstanding goal against Borussia Dortmund at the recent Club World Cup in the United States. Five-time African champions TP Mazembe have successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over the premature conclusion of the Democratic Republic of Congo national league season. League officials in the central African country declared the campaign over after 16 of the scheduled 22 matchdays, with Eagles topping the table, five points ahead of fifth-placed Mazembe. The CAS decision means the remaining six