The Cup Winners Cup was another Egyptian triumph. On the way to the final, there was one more African freak addition to the usual withdrawals. The government of Gabon disbanded CAP Owendo before the first round was played; the death of Guinea’s President Ahmed Sekou-Toure led to withdrawal of Horoya AC, just like Hafia in the other torunament – the country was in mourning, so no football. The other two withdrawals were bizarre… the first happened in the preliminary round. The second leg between GD Lage and Avia Sports (Central African Republic), played in Equatorial Guinea, was abandoned in the 80th minute, due to… darkness. At the time, GD Lage was leading 1-0 and thus qualifying, but – darkness. Avia Sports was awarded the victory. The other darkness was political and huge it was, for it involved the final of the tournament. After overtime and penalty shoot-out Al-Ahly (Tripoli) eliminated Canon (Yaounde, Cameroon). But playing the final was not in the books and this was certain much earlier: Lybia and Egypt did not see eye to eye politically. Two of the semifinalists were Egyptian clubs – if the ‘enemy’ was avoided by sheer luck in the semi-finals, it was certain to appear at the final… and, for political reasons, the Lybian club withdrew. Which effectively meant no final? Apparently the problem was well known and announced in time, for the final was played – Canon (Yaounde), the losing semi-finalist, went ahead.
In the other semi-final the Egyptian derby between Al-Ahly and Al-Mokaoulun ended without winner – 0-0 and 1-1. But Al-Ahly scored away goal and thus the 1983 Cup winners were eliminated. No second cup for them…
The final was tough, as expected – Canon reached the final by default, but it was one of the strongest African clubs for years, so it was hardly the underdog. Al-Ahly won at home 1-0, then lost in Yaounde 0-1. As names go… the Egyptian scorer hardly rings a bell (Magdi Abdelghani), but the Cameroonian soccer was much more familiar – Dagobert Dang. The 1982 World Cup was fresh memory. But familiar names were not going to win – the Egyptians prevailed in the shoot-out 4-2.
Perhaps it was only fair that Canon lost – they were not to play the final at all. But they lost both semi-final and final only on penalty shoot-out, so they were not some lucky team: they were strong and also confirming the solid and stable state of Cameroonian football.
Al-Ahly, for many – the most popular and the strongest Egyptian club – finally won international trophy. A great moment, no doubt. And also telling – in two years, Egyptian clubs won 3 African club trophies – it was not Cameroon staying consistent: a new chapter of African football was finally starting: it looked like old predictions were becoming reality at last – the continent was bursting with football talent and now serious professional approach was establishing too.