| Organising body | Egyptian Football Association |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2023 |
| First season | 2023–24 |
| Country | Egypt |
| Number of teams | 20 |
| Level on pyramid | 2 |
| Promotion to | Egyptian Premier League |
| Relegation to | Egyptian Second Division B |
| Domestic cup(s) | Egypt Cup |
| International cup(s) | CAF Confederation Cup (via winning Egypt Cup) |
| Current: 2023–24 Egyptian Second Division A | |
The Egyptian Second Division A (Arabic: دوري القسم الثاني المصري "أ"), sometimes referred to by the media as the Professionals League (Arabic: دوري المحترفين), is the second tier of the Egyptian football league system starting from the 2023–24 season. It replaces the Egyptian Second Division. It is administered by the Egyptian Football Association. It is below the top professional league in the country, the Egyptian Premier League, and above the newly-created Egyptian Second Division B. It is the first professional second-tier league in Egypt.[1]
Plans to replace the old Egyptian Second Division with a professional league were first revealed by the Egyptian Football Association in 2018, with the purpose of increasing the quality of the league, improving domestic competitions, and also for marketing reasons. It was decided that the 2019–20 season will be the last edition with the old format, with the initial idea of lowering the number of teams participating in the league from 36 to 24 by relegating 15 teams to the Egyptian Third Division, and lowering the number of teams promoting from the lower league from twelve to just three. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Egypt, and the financial difficulties faced by smaller clubs during that period, all clubs that finished in the relegation zones were reprieved from relegation, and the new league plans were halted.[2]
After Gamal Allam was elected to the presidency of the EFA in January 2022, the idea to change the format of the second tier surfaced again, and it was decided that the football league system in Egypt will undergo major changes. This was confirmed in August the same year, and it was announced that the second division will be abolished, and two new leagues, known as the Second Division A and Second Division B, will be created as the new second and third tier leagues, respectively.[3] The reformation decision meant that the 2022–23 season will be the last edition of the old second division, which will see just 14 out of the 48 participating teams earning a spot in the first season of the Egyptian Second Division A.[4]
The first ever team to secure participation in the inaugural season of the competition was Makadi, a team from Hurghada, that earned its spot on 21 March 2023, after topping the first group in the promotion play-offs phase of the 2022–23 Egyptian Third Division.[5] All 20 participating teams in the inaugural season were confirmed by mid-July 2023.
Ahead of the conclusion of the 2022–23 football season in Egypt, numerous clubs publicly called the EFA to cancel the new Second Division A and B leagues, all of which were relegated to the Second Division B. The clubs stated that the new leagues will not help improve the Egyptian football, and instead will result in a decline for clubs not owned by companies, due to the difficult financial conditions these clubs are facing, and the high costs of travel in the new league. The EFA organized multiple meetings with clubs' representatives to discuss a solution that would satisfy all members, but failed to do so.[6]
On 1 August 2023, more than 50 clubs attended an Extraordinary General Assembly at the EFA headquarters to vote on whether they object against the creation of the new leagues or not, with all but one vote objecting to it.[7] One week later, on 8 August, the EFA announced in a statement that the convening of the Extraordinary General Assembly was invalid, as the conditions for its convening were not completed, and announced that a further meeting will be held with Second Division A clubs to make some adjustments to the promotion and relegation system, and to officially approve the new leagues' system.[8] Later the same day, the final league format was announced by EFA board member Ehab El Komy.[9]
The draw for the inaugural season of the competition was held on 22 August 2023, at the EFA headquarters.[10]
The league consist of 20 teams in one group.[11] The initial format of the competition was announced on 19 June 2023, by president of the Egyptian Football Association's Competition Committee, Amer Hussein, during an interview broadcast live on TV, and was announced officially on 9 July 2023.[12][13] The top two teams will earn promotion to the Egyptian Premier League, while the third-placed team will face the first-placed team from each group in the Egyptian Second Division B in a four-team play-off round, to decide the third promoted team to the Premier League. Teams finishing in the bottom six will be relegated to the Second Division B.
The promotion system meant that there's a chance for Second Division B sides to earn promotion directly to the Premier League without playing in the Second Division A, which drew heavy criticism from the sporting scene in Egypt, as it was seen as an attempted move by the EFA to gain trust from Second Division B teams to give them a chance to earn promotion to the Premier League directly; after many clubs objected to the application of the Second Division A after their relegation was confirmed to the new third-tier league, including El Mansoura, Al Nasr, Olympic Club, Suez and Tersana.[14]
Following meetings with Second Division A teams, a new format was announced on 8 August 2023. The season will consist of two phases: In the first phase, teams will face each other only once in a single-leg tie, then the league will split into two groups. Phase two will consist of a promotion group for teams finishing from first to tenth, and a relegation group for teams finishing from 11th to 20th in the first phase.[9] Similar to the initial format, the top two teams in the promotion group will earn promotion to the Egyptian Premier League, while the third-placed team will face the first-placed team from each group in the Egyptian Second Division B in a four-team play-off round, to decide the third promoted team to the Premier League. Teams finishing in the bottom six in the relegation group will face relegation to the Second Division B.
It was also announced that the inaugural season's format is exceptional, and a new format will be adopted starting from the 2024–25 season.
Like other divisions in Egypt, it will take place annually, beginning in September, and ending in June of the following year. All teams are eligible to participate in the Egypt Cup, in case they pay the entrance fee.
The 20 participating clubs in the inaugural edition of the competition were all confirmed by 14 July 2023.
Members of and stadiums in the 2023–24 Egyptian Second Division A.[note 1]
