Al-Ahly’s last appearance in the Club World Championship came in Qatar in 2011, when they qualified as champions of Africa. There they lost all three pool matches, taking a solitary point after a five-set defeat to hosts Al-Arabi. Their only other appearance in the competition came in 2010, when they also lost all three first round matches.

Al-Ahly are one of the major forces in African volleyball having won the African Club Championship 11 times. They won the 2015 edition, with Ahmed Kotb being named Most Valuable Player and Hossam Youssef receiving the Best Server award, and it was that victory that qualified them for this Club World Championship. In the 2015 African Club Championship final they defeated Esperance in the final. The Tunisian outfit had previously defeated Al-Ahly in straight sets in the final of the 2014 edition, one of five times that the Egyptian team have finished as silver medallists. The year of 2010 was a memorable one as they completed an ‘African Grand Slam’, winning the Egyptian league and cup, Arab World Cup and the African Championship. They had a perfect record over all four tournaments, winning 60 out of 60 games. They were founded in 1955 and are based in the country’s capital, Cairo.