Al Ahly appoint Jess Thorup as new head coach

Egyptian giants Al Ahly have officially announced the appointment of Danish coach Jess Thorup as the new head coach of the club’s first football team on a two-and-a-half-year contract, succeeding Emad El-Nahhas, who had been serving as interim manager following the departure of Spaniard José Riveiro.

In an official statement released on Tuesday evening, Al Ahly confirmed that Osama Helal, the club’s Director of Contracting and Scouting, finalized all administrative and financial details of the deal after a series of meetings and consultations led by the Planning Committee, chaired by club president Mahmoud El-Khatib.

🔴 The beginning of a new era in Gezira 🦅 pic.twitter.com/Rpg5Jpcfe7

— Al Ahly SC 🇬🇧 (@AlAhlyEnglish) October 8, 2025

Thorup is set to begin his duties in the coming days, after arriving in Cairo on Thursday. The club announced that he will be accompanied by two assistant coaches, a fitness coach, a performance analyst, and a goalkeeping coach, forming his full backroom staff for the new chapter with Al Ahly.

Earlier reports from Danish media revealed that Thorup had accepted a lucrative offer from Al Ahly, Africa’s most decorated club, worth around 60 million Danish kroner (approximately USD 9 million) in net earnings over the duration of the contract — a sign of the club’s determination to restore dominance at both domestic and continental levels.

Interesting career for Al Ahly new coach:

Throughout his coaching career, Jess Thorup has enjoyed notable success in Danish football. He led FC Copenhagen to the Danish Superliga title in the 2021/22 season, and previously guided FC Midtjylland to the league championship in 2017/18. Earlier in his career, he also captured the Danish Cup (DBU Pokalen) in 2012/13 with Esbjerg fB.

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