 The Cairo International Stadium was full for the game with Sfaxien |
Ahly of Egypt collected a club record in gate fees for a continental match in Sunday's African Champions League final first leg against CS Sfaxien of Tunisia. The game made US$150,000 for the reigning African champions, the only match to make more money for them was their 1-0 win over Spanish giants Real Madrid back in 2001.
At least 74,000 spectators, a capacity crowd, crammed into the Cairo International Stadium to witness Ahly draw 1-1 with Sfaxien.
There were some reports that several thousand extra fans made it into the stadium making use of all the space available, including the gangways.
Sfaxien will be hoping for a similar windfall in the second leg on 11 November after moving the game from their home ground to the much larger Rades stadium in Tunis, which has a capacity of 60,000.
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However, the money from the ticket sales is small change compared to the US$1m that is on offer for the eventual winners of the African Champions League.
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