Fans have been advised to arrive early for tomorrow’s CAF Super Cup match between Esperance Sportive de Tunis and Zamalek SC, which will kick-off at 7pm at the Al Gharafa stadium. Excitement has been building all week for the sell-out match between the Tunisian and Egyptian giants. 
This is the second time the CAF Super Cup will take place in Doha following an agreement between the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the Qatar Football Association. The match will also take place in the Qatari capital in 2021 and 2022.
The Super Cup is an annual one-off match pitting the winner of the CAF Champions League and second-tier CAF Confederation Cup against each other. ES Tunis will be playing competitive football in Doha for the fourth time in the last year. They finished as runners-up in last season’s CAF Super Cup following a narrow defeat to Morocco’s Raja Casablanca, before winning the Tunisian Super Cup thanks to a 2-1 victory over Club Athletique Bizertin. In December, ES Tunis finished fifth in the FIFA Club World Cup after beating Qatari side Al Sadd SC at the Khalifa International Stadium.
ES Tunis are aiming to win the CAF Super Cup for the second time in their history after previously winning the event in 1995. Esperance, known as “Blood and Gold” and “the White Knights” of Zamalek are among the giants of African football. The Tunisian side have won the Super Cup once and the Egyptian outfit on three occasions.
Esperance often start as many as seven non-Tunisians, including four Algerians, although star defender Abdelkader Bedrane is reportedly injured and will not play in Doha. Zamalek rely heavily on Egyptians including star forward Mostafa Mohamed. 
Zamalek, meanwhile, are aiming to lift the trophy for the fourth time after previous victories in 1994, 1997 and 2003. The Egyptians have been training at the Qatar University stadium under coach Patrice Carteron, who divided the players into three groups.
Meanwhile, African football bosses will hope the Super Cup clash overshadows the fiasco over the way Esperance qualified. Esperance won the AFC Champions League after opponents Wydad Casablanca abandoned the final in protest at the organisers’ decision not to use VAR.
Play was stopped for more than an hour with the Moroccan side insisting they had not been told the video referee would not be deployed. The Court of Arbitration for Sport named Esperance the winners after a bruising legal battle that did nothing to enhance the image of scandal-tainted African football.
 
Fan Zone to open at 4pm 
The trophy tour kicked off last week and has visited a number of public places, including malls, schools and businesses. Supporters are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy the Fan Zone, which will open at 4pm. The Fan Zone will feature food trucks, entertainment and various football-related activities. There will be two Fan Zone locations outside the stadium – one for ES Tunis fans; the other for Zamalek supporters. Each Fan Zone will feature food and entertainment which reflects the culture of the different countries. Fans are also reminded about prohibited items. Items which are commonly confiscated include lighters, water bottles and perfume. 
The match and associated activities will be supported by more than 230 volunteers, aged 18-40, from the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy’s Volunteer Programme, which was launched to train volunteers who may support the organisation of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.