The fittest survive. But in soccer nowadays, it's the richest who survive at least in Egypt. The richest teams are those who win titles, as they can afford to hire the world's best professionals and coaches. In Egypt, the teams sponsored and financed by companies or institutions are better and more influential than those financed by individuals. In the 1960s, the clubs owned by companies were few, such as Railways, el-Teram and Ghazl el-Mahalla, but nowadays company-based clubs are on the increase. For example, there are the Petroleum clubs Enppi, Petrojet and Assiut Petroleum who are doing well in the local league. They are sponsored by the Ministry of Petroleum. Enppi (Engineering for the Petroleum and Process Industries) is originally an Egyptian oil and gas company established in 1978. Enppi club were then formed in 1980. They were promoted to the First Division for the first time in the 2002-2003 season. They won the Egyptian Cup in season 2004-05 and finished in second place in the same season. The team have participated in the CAF Champions League in 2006 and Confederation Cup in 2007 and 2009. Petrojet are the second Ministry of Petroleum team, owned by the Egyptian petrol company, Petrojet. They are based in Suez and are about to commence their fifth season in the Egyptian Premier League. Petrojet were promoted to the Egyptian Premier League for the first time for the 2006-07 season. They reserved their berth in the top flight after a fierce struggle with a number of strong teams like Tersana and Al-Sekka Al-Hadid (Railways), who are also doing well in the local league as they have plenty of money. However, Al-Ahly, Zamalek and Ismaili, the greatest and oldest clubs in Egypt, are on the verge of running out of cash. Ahly, once one of Egypt's richest teams, are suffering from a financial crisis. They no longer make much money from marketing or selling players. So the Red Devils are now relying more and more on their youngsters, who will be given the chance to show their worth now that the team have won a sixth consecutive Egyptian Premier League title. There are eight new faces in the Ahly squad: defenders Saad Samir, Islam Mesabah and Mohamed Abdel-Fattah; and midfielders Mahmoud Touba, Ahmed Nabil, Alaa Shaaban, Mohamed Abou Seif and Hussein el-Sayyed. Fellow youngsters Ahmed Shokri, Shehab Ahmed and Afrotto have already played a key role in handing Ahly their 35th league title after being promoted to the first team by coach Hossam el-Badri. Meanwhile, Ismaili are in a dilemma with goalie Essam el-Hadari demanding the club give him his back pay. Like their traditional arch-rivals Al-Ahly and Zamalek, the Canal-based club are suffering from cash flow problems. Meanwhile, popular teams such as El-Masri of Port Said, Al-Ittihad of Alexandria and Mansoura mainly depend on their chairmen. El-Masri are financed by Kamed Abou Ali and Ittihad by Mohamed Meselhi. The military and police teams have also succeeded in engraving their names in the local league. Military Production, who lie in the sixth place so far with 41 points, are a Cairo-based club in the Premier League, representing the Ministry of War Production. Their promotion to the Premier League for the 2009-2010 season marked their first appearance at that level. The second military team Harras el-Hodoud are also showing their mettle. They won the Egypt's Cup last season and are competing in the Confederation Cup. The military teams receive a lot of financial support from the Ministry and soldiers, who attend most of their matches. They have wonderful stadiums and institutions. Police Union, lying in the fifth place of the table with 43 points, enjoy great support from the Ministry of Interior.
