CAIRO- Alaa Mubarak, son of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, attended Ahli's training session on Saturday, one day before their anticipated clash at home to Algeria's JS Kabylie. "Chairman Hassan Hamdi, vice chairman Mahmoud Al-Khatib and board member Khaled Mortagi welcomed Alaa Mubarak to Cairo Stadium today," Ahli said in a statement on their official website. "The president's son greeted the players and asked them to do their best and win Sunday's game." Mubarak, a businessman who is unlike his brother Gamal not involved in politics, used to be media-shy but opted to break his silence following Egypt's ill-tempered World Cup qualifier against rivals Algeria in Sudan last year. Egyptian fans who accompanied the national team in their trip to Khartoum said they were attacked by Algerian supporters following the game, which the Desert Foxes won 1-0 to reach the World Cup finals in South Africa. Mubarak was praised by many Egyptians for launching a tirade against Algerian fans during a live TV show as tensions rose between the two Arab nations. Ever since, He has been appearing regularly at the major sport events that featured the presence of Egypt and Algeria. Mubarak was in the stands to support Egypt's national handball team when they beat Algeria in the African Championship semi final last February. His visit to Ahli ahead of their Group B tie against Kabylie boosted the morale of the players, the Red Devils said. "The players promised Mubarak that they would do their utmost to win and edge closer to a place in the Champions League semi final," the club added. Ahli lost 1-0 at Kabylie in their previous Champions League clash that was marred by some unfortunate incidents on and off the pitch. The Cairo giants' bus was stoned before and after the game to prompt the club to file a complaint to the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The match itself witnessed an ugly brawl between Ahli players and the stadium's stewards when the visitors had a goal correctly disallowed for offside with four minutes remaining. Kabylie said they were grateful to Ahli for their warm reception after arriving in Cairo on Wednesday. "I am very happy with the great reception from Ahli's part. I was confident this would happen from such a club," Kabylie chairman Mohand Cherif said. "Many thanks to chairman Hassan Hamdi. The reception this time was even better than our last visit to Egypt (in Ismailia)." Kabylie also inflicted a 1-0 defeat on fellow Egyptian side Ismaili. Both sides will meet again in Algeria next month. Reports are suggesting that Mubarak would be a member of Ismaili's delegation for the match. Kabylie are favorites to book a semi-final berth as they top the group with maximum nine points, five ahead of Ahli and six clear of Ismaili. Nigeria's Heartland, who finished as runners-up last season, lie at the bottom with one point.
