Al Ahly have announced that club president Mahmoud El-Khatib will hold a press conference on Saturday at 12:00 pm, while Pitso Mosimane’s agent has confirmed she’s flying to Egypt after the recent turmoil.
The Club of the Century have found itself in somewhat of turmoil this week after Al Ahly put out two public messages about meetings with head coach Pitso Mosimane.
The first one was held on Tuesday via a zoom call and Al Ahly stated it was set up to plan for “the first team’s preparations for the upcoming period”.
However, with Mosimane in Morocco to complete his CAF Pro License at the time, the meeting couldn’t be concluded and the club confirmed there will be a follow-up meeting when ‘Jingles’ returns to Egypt.
The club’s board room politics has seemingly alerted Mosimane’s representatives, with his wife and agent Moira Thlagale telling SABC Sport that she will personally travel to Egypt because there is a lot of noise around the situation.
“There’s never smoke without fire. For us to want to sit here and not be surprised, it would be short-sighted,” she said.
“The meeting has got nothing to do with me, it’s an employer and employee meeting. But as the manager of the four guys there (Mosimane, fitness trainer Kabelo Rangoaga as well as analysts Musi Matlaba and Kyle Solomons) with the hullabaloo, it’s important that I am there in case my team needs support.”
Meanwhile, some were surprised when Al Ahly confirmed they will hold a press conference on Saturday, but it is a known fact that the club wanted to host the press briefing even before the chaos around Mosimane erupted.
El-Khatib wanted to address the media about the club’s position towards the Confederation of African Football after CAF decided to host the CAF Champions League final at the Stade Mohamed V, Wydad Athletic Club’s home ground.
CAF’s head of media, Luxolo September did insist that the African football mother body had followed all proper protocols but the decision has upset the powers at the club as well as coach Mosimane, who presented himself as very vocal against CAF president Patrice Motsepe.
Reports in Egypt state, that Mosimane’s remarks were somewhat not well received by some members of Al Ahly’s board, which has caused the current situation to boil over a little, but the coach still has the backing of president El-Khatib, who handpicked the South African coach to lead this current generation of Africa’s most successful club.
On Friday, Al Ahly confirmed their press conference will take place as planned on Saturday, while the club is yet to give an update on their talks with Mosimane.
“Mahmoud El-Khatib, Al Ahly’s president, will hold a press conference on Saturday at 12:00 PM in the club’s premises in Gezira to reveal new important details about the CAF Champions League final, which was held on May 30 in Casablanca.
“The club invites all local and international journalists to attend the press conference.”
CAF Respond To Pitso Criticism
