Cairo
Cairo is a football city to its core, split between Al Ahly and Zamalek and playing on every patch of flat ground between the Nile and the desert. In 2027 MCC runs a 5-a-side tournament on the city's small pitches, with three Cairo grounds and a ladder that climbs from the 9 April weekend to the World Final in July.
Three grounds, three champions
Two halves of 15 minutes on a stop clock. Every team plays three group matches in a group of four, and the top two go into the playoffs, where a tie level after two halves goes to penalties. Five weeks of football on each ground leave Cairo with three Pitch Champions, and each goes straight to the Country Championship.
New Cairo/East
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Nasr City/Central-East
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Giza/West
64 to 128 teams · $20,000 to its Pitch Champion
Checking live availability...
Five-a-side in a city that never stops playing
Small-sided football in Cairo happens late, because the evenings are when the heat lets go. Teams book floodlit pitches at sports clubs, university grounds and rooftop courts, and games run well past ten at night. Futsal rules and five-a-side habits overlap here, so most squads already know a fast, tight game on a small pitch.
MCC matches last two 15-minute halves on a stop clock, in 40-minute slots, and each squad can carry nine players. A team that already plays a weekly fixture at a club in Maadi, Heliopolis or Mohandessin has the rhythm the Pitch Round asks for.
New Cairo/East, Nasr City/Central-East and Giza/West on the map
The three Cairo grounds follow the way the city is laid out. New Cairo/East covers the eastern suburbs beyond the Ring Road, from the Fifth Settlement outward. Nasr City/Central-East is around the Cairo International Stadium and the neighbourhoods toward Heliopolis. Giza/West covers the west bank, including Dokki, Mohandessin and the streets near the Pyramids road.
Most teams get around by metro, microbus, ride-hailing or their own car, and traffic decides the day. Each ground runs its own full round, so a team can enter the one nearest its squad and avoid crossing the Nile on a match night.
Spring dates and the road to Alexandria and beyond
Friday 9 April 2027 is the first day of the Cairo Pitch Round, and the ninth of May is the last. In between sit three weekends of group games, then playoffs that begin on 30 April, ending in one final per ground. April in Cairo is warm rather than punishing, with the odd dusty spring wind, so evening kickoffs suit it well.
Pitch Champions from the Cairo grounds travel on to the Egyptian Country Championship, where the Alexandria winners wait for them between 28 and 30 May. Africa's continental stage follows, and the World Final on 7 July 2027 closes the ladder, with $5,000,000 at the top.
Why a Cairo team would enter an MCC tournament
Cairo has no shortage of company cups, club days and Ramadan night tournaments. MCC is built differently: a single season, a format published in advance and a route out of the city for each ground's winner. Only amateurs may play, the licence names a Team President, and any player who breaks the zero-tolerance conduct policy risks losing it.
The road out of Cairo
- 01 · 9 Apr - 9 May 2027
Pitch Round
Groups of four on every pitch, three group matches each. The top two of every group go into the playoffs, and penalties settle a level playoff tie.
$20,000 - 02 · 28-30 May 2027
Country Championship
The Pitch Champions of each country play for the national title: two halves of 15 minutes, a league table, then the playoffs.
$150,000 - 03 · 2027
Continental Championship
Country Champions compete within their region for a place on the world stage.
$500,000 - 04 · 7 Jul 2027
World Championship
A five-team mini-league, then the World Final: two halves of 15 minutes, penalties if level. One MCC World Champion.
$5,000,000
Questions from Cairo
How does a team enter MCC in Cairo?
Register on this site and pick one of Cairo's three grounds: New Cairo/East, Nasr City/Central-East, Giza/West. One Team License per team: USD 1,200 for one year until 1 March 2027 (then 2,500), or 5,000 for three years. Payment and KYC verification follow the application.
When does the tournament start in Cairo?
The Pitch Round runs 9 April to 9 May 2027 on all three Cairo grounds. The group matches are played on 9-11, 16-18 and 23-25 April, the playoffs from 30 April, and each ground's final on 9 May. Pitch Champions go straight to the Country Championship on 28-30 May 2027.
How many teams can play in Cairo?
Up to 384: each of the three grounds takes up to 128 teams, and each needs a minimum of 64 to run its round. A full ground puts an entry on its waitlist instead of turning it away.
What can a Cairo team win?
$20,000 per Pitch Champion, $150,000 for the Egypt title, $500,000 continental and $5,000,000 for the World Champion - plus championship rings from Country level up.
Which Cairo ground suits a team from Maadi or Helwan?
Nasr City is the central-east ground and New Cairo sits further east, so a team from the south should choose whichever it can reach after work most easily. Each ground plays a complete round, so the choice carries no sporting advantage.
Can a club team or a university side enter the Cairo tournament?
Yes, as long as the players are amateurs. One Team License covers the whole squad of nine at most, with a Team President named on the entry. Teams formed by a faculty, a company or a sports club are all eligible.
Will Cairo matches be played in the evening?
Kickoff times come from the fixture schedule for each ground inside the published dates, and every match takes a 40-minute slot. Teams do not choose their kickoffs. Evenings are when most Cairo small-sided football is played, so many squads are used to late games.
What happens if our Cairo team wins its ground?
The Pitch Champion receives $20,000 and goes straight to the national Country Championship from 28 to 30 May 2027, where Cairo and Alexandria champions meet. The national winner continues to the continental stage.
Also hosting in Egypt
Nearby in Africa
Claim a pitch in Cairo
One Team License per team, for one year or three years. Squads of up to 9 are built in the MCC app after licensing. Registration takes the team, its coach and its Team President.
- USD1,200One year
- 5,000Three years