The 2018–19 Egyptian Premier League, also known as The WE League for sponsorship purposes, was the 60th season of the Egyptian Premier League, the top Egyptian professional league for association football clubs, since its establishment in 1948. The season started on 31 July 2018 and concluded on 28 July 2019. Fixtures for the 2018–19 season were announced on 8 July 2018.
El Gouna, Nogoom and Haras El Hodoud entered as the promoted teams from the 2017–18 Egyptian Second Division. They replaced El Raja, Tanta and Al Nasr who were relegated to the 2018–19 Egyptian Second Division.
Defending champions Al Ahly won their 4th consecutive and 41st overall Egyptian Premier League title on 24 July 2019, following their 3–1 away win against Al Mokawloon Al Arab.
Overview Fans return to the stadiums From this season on, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) officially allowed the fans to attend league matches again, after they showed great discipline while attending non-league matches in the previous years. The EFA banned all fans from attending all matches back in February 2012, where the Port Said Stadium riot occurred during Al Masry and Al Ahly match in the 2011–12 Egyptian Premier League, which resulted in the death of 72 Al Ahly fans, 1 Al Masry fan and 1 police officer. All Egyptian Premier League fixtures since then was played behind closed doors, and sometimes with a group of people who were invited by the clubs involving in a match.
Al Masry return to Port Said From this season on, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) was supposed to allow Al Masry to play all local home matches at Al Masry Club Stadium (previously known as Port Said Stadium) in Port Said, after the club successfully acquired the stadium from the Governorate of Port Said on 5 January 2016. However the local security authorities refused this decision, and the club ended up playing their home matches at various stadiums in different cities. The EFA banned Al Masry Club Stadium from hosting all football or sport activities after the Port Said Stadium riot occurred in 2012, and Al Masry played all of their local matches, both home and away, at Borg El Arab Stadium in Alexandria and at Ismailia Stadium in Ismailia for CAF matches since then.
Al Assiouty Sport takeover On 18 June 2018, Mahmoud Al Assiouty, president of Al Assiouty Sport, announced that the club was officially sold to two investors from Saudi Arabia. The club name was changed to Pyramids Football Club, and the deal was later confirmed on 27 June 2018.
Nogoom El Mostakbal rebranding On 29 July 2018, just two days before the start of the season, Nogoom El Mostakbal announced on their official Facebook page that the club name has been changed to Nogoom Football Club. Club president Mohamed El Tawila stated that the decision to rename the club came after they reached their goal by promoting to the Egyptian Premier League for the first time. The old name, Nogoom El Mostakbal, in Arabic, means "Future Stars", and the new name, Nogoom, means "Stars".
Teams
Eighteen teams competed in the league - the top fifteen teams from the previous season, and three teams promoted from the Second Division.
Teams promoted to the Egyptian Premier League The first team to be promoted was Haras El Hodoud from Group C, following their 1–0 away win against Al Hammam on 10 April 2018. The Alexandrian side returned to the Premier League after staying only two season in the Second Division, and participated in the top flight for the fifteenth time in their history.
The second team to be promoted was El Gouna from Group A, following their 1–0 away win against Al Salam on 11 April 2018. El Gouna earned a spot in the Premier League for the fifth time in the club's history, having played four seasons in the top flight before with the 2014–15 season being the most recent.
The third team to be promoted was Nogoom (which was known as Nogoom El Mostakbal during that time) from Group B, following their 1–0 home win against Montakhab Suez on 18 April 2018. Nogoom managed to secure the promotion spot after a fierce contest that lasted until the last day of the league with Tersana, who lost 1–0 to Gomhoriat Shebin on the same day to confirm the promotion of Nogoom El Mostakbal to the Premier League for the first time in the club's history.
Teams relegated to the Egyptian Second Division The first club to be relegated was Al Nasr, who suffered an immediate return to the Second Division following a 2–1 away defeat to Al Masry on 12 April 2018.
The second club to be relegated was Tanta, their stay in the Premier League came to an end after spending only two season in the top flight following a 1–2 home defeat to Al Masry on 21 April 2018.
The third club to be relegated was El Raja, who also suffered an immediate return to the Second Division after Wadi Degla secured the last safe spot in the Premier League following a 2–1 home win against El Entag El Harby on 21 April 2018.
Venues Al Ahly El Dakhleya ENPPI Al Salam Stadium Police Academy Stadium Petro Sport Stadium Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 12,000 Capacity: 16,000 El Entag El Harby El Gouna Haras El Hodoud Al Salam Stadium El Gouna Stadium Haras El Hodoud Stadium Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 10,000 Capacity: 22,000 Ismaily Al Ittihad Al Masry Ismailia Stadium Alexandria Stadium Borg El Arab Stadium Capacity: 18,525 Capacity: 19,676 Capacity: 86,000 Misr Lel Makkasa Al Mokawloon Al Arab Nogoom Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium Osman Ahmed Osman Stadium Petro Sport Stadium Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 35,000 Capacity: 16,000 Petrojet Pyramids Smouha Suez Stadium 30 June Stadium Borg El Arab Stadium Capacity: 27,000 Capacity: 30,000 Capacity: 86,000 Tala'ea El Gaish Wadi Degla Zamalek Gehaz El Reyada Stadium Cairo Military Academy Stadium Petro Sport Stadium Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 28,500 Capacity: 16,000 Notes
Personnel and kits Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor Hossam AshourUmbroWE, Lava, Royal Dutch Shell, Tiger Chips, Uber, GLC Paints Rashad FaroukKoneN/A Ramy SabryNikeN/A Mahmoud El BadryUhlsportN/A Ahmed SaidAdidasOrascom Mostafa GamalUhlsportN/A Mahmoud MetwalliAdidasN/A El Hany SolimanUhlsportN/A Islam SalahAdidasN/A Mido GaberNikeN/A Mahmoud Abou El SaoudAdidasN/A Mahmoud FathallaMacronN/A Hossam HassanUhlsportN/A Abdallah El SaidKappaSaudia, Swyp El Sayed Farid UhlsportN/A Mohamed BassamMacronN/A Hossam ArafatJomaNeopolis Hazem EmamPumaN/A 1. On the back of shirt. 2. On the sleeves. 3. Al Ahly used previous season's kits made by Sporta until January 2019. 4. Ismaily's captain, Hosny Abd Rabo, announced his retirement from football in January 2019. 5. Misr Lel Makkasa's captain, Mahmoud Wahid, transferred to Al Ahly during the winter transfer window. 6. Petrojet's captain, Shimelis Bekele, transferred to Misr Lel Makkasa during the winter transfer window. 7. Pyramids's captain, Hamada Tolba, transferred to Petrojet during the winter transfer window. 8. Wadi Degla's captain, El Sayed Salem, transferred to Al Ittihad during the winter transfer window. 9. Zamalek used previous season's kits made by Joma until October 2018. WE, Oppo, El Kasrawy Group, SAIB Bank, EgyptAir and GLC Paints are the league's main sponsors, and their logos are printed on most of the teams' kits. Additionally, referee kits are made by Adidas.
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner of departureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate of appointmentNogoom Signed by Pharco26 April 2018Pre-season 22 May 2018Haras El Hodoud Sacked14 May 2018 16 May 2018Smouha Mutual consent18 May 2018 21 May 2018Wadi Degla Resigned21 May 2018 12 June 2018Pyramids Signed by Smouha21 May 2018 1 June 2018Ismaily Mutual consent23 May 2018 24 May 2018Al Ahly End of caretaker spell12 June 2018 12 June 2018Pyramids Sacked18 June 2018 28 June 2018Zamalek 3 July 2018 3 July 2018Nogoom Mutual consent23 July 2018 (caretaker)29 July 2018Nogoom End of caretaker spell11 August 201813th 11 August 2018Pyramids Mutual consent16 August 20184th 17 August 2018Nogoom Resigned14 September 201814th (caretaker)14 September 2018Haras El Hodoud 20 September 201818th 20 September 2018Al Ittihad 22 September 201814th 24 September 2018Ismaily Mutual consent23 September 20189th (caretaker)23 September 2018Nogoom End of caretaker spell23 September 201816th 25 September 2018Ismaily 4 October 201814th 4 October 2018Al Mokawloon Al Arab Resigned24 October 201818th 24 October 2018Al Masry 29 October 201814th 30 October 2018Pyramids Mutual consent29 October 20184th 29 October 2018Petrojet Resigned6 November 201817th (caretaker)6 November 2018Petrojet End of caretaker spell13 November 201818th 13 November 2018Smouha Resigned13 November 20183rd 14 November 2018Al Masry Sacked22 November 201816th (caretaker)22 November 2018Tala'ea El Gaish Resigned22 November 20187th 23 November 2018Al Ahly Sacked22 November 201818th (caretaker)22 November 2018El Gouna Resigned27 November 201810th 29 November 2018ENPPI 29 November 201816th 1 December 2018Ismaily 11 December 201818th 15 December 2018Al Masry 15 December 201811th 15 December 2018Al Ahly End of caretaker spell29 December 20186th 30 December 2018Smouha Sacked17 January 20199th 17 January 2019Pyramids 24 January 20192nd (caretaker)26 January 2019Petrojet 31 January 201918th 31 January 2019Pyramids End of caretaker spell5 February 20192nd 5 February 2019Smouha Sacked21 February 201912th 22 February 2019Nogoom Resigned27 February 201917th 27 February 2019Misr Lel Makkasa 19 April 20196th (caretaker)20 April 2019Nogoom Sacked20 April 201918th 23 April 2019Ismaily 26 April 20197th 26 April 2019El Dakhleya Resigned13 May 201917th 13 May 2019Al Ittihad 22 May 201913th 22 May 2019Zamalek Sacked28 May 20193rd 31 May 2019Tala'ea El Gaish Resigned28 May 20198th 11 July 2019Pyramids 31 May 20192nd 8 July 2019Misr Lel Makkasa End of caretaker spell9 June 20196th 9 June 2019El Gouna Mutual consent10 June 201915th (caretaker)19 July 2019 Notes
Foreign players Clubs could have a maximum of four foreign players registered during the season. Clubs could not sign foreign players unless these players had played in the first or second tier in their countries. Clubs also could not sign any foreign goalkeepers. In addition, each club could register a total of two players from Palestine or Syria; those players were treated as Egyptians, and did not count as foreign players.
Players name in bold indicates the player is registered during the mid-season transfer window. Players name in ITALICS indicates the player have left the club during the mid-season transfer window.