The game of football was not one of the goals of the founders of Al Ahly SC, but rather to open its doors to students of high schools to meet and practice political dialogues.

[14] In the summer of 1929, Al-Ahly's football went on a tour where the team traveled to face several European clubs, such as Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray in Turkey and BFC Preussen, 1860 Munich and Schalke in Germany.

[16] At the end of the 1936–1937 season, Al Ahly managed to win the league in the last round by defeating Zamalek 4–1, finishing three points ahead of their rivals.

The decision had been made despite the refusal of the president of the Egyptian Football Association Haider Pasha, due to the pressure from the British position against the Palestinian issue.

Al-Ahly did not win the league for another 13 years.After years of deterioration, the club took the first steps in recovery when the management decided to sign Nándor Hidegkuti as head coach in September 1973, at a salary of fewer than 600 dollars.

They eventually bowed out in the quarter-finals by Accra Hearts of Oak S.C.[38] From 1978 to 1980, Hidegkuti refused to take part in the CAF Champions League due to lack of financial resources and exhausting journeys in Africa.

The last matches in the competition witnessed a dip in form by Zamalek with Al Ahly managing to win the championship with three points ahead of them, after a goalless Cairo derby draw in the last round.

Al Ahly reached the semi-final of 1981 African Cup of Champions Clubs but withdrew due to the assassination of the President Anwar Sadat.

The first leg was played on 27 November at Cairo Stadium with 90,000 spectators, with one of the attendees being the former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and ended tied 0–0.

Manuel Jose was unable to collect any local championships in his first term,[56] although his team was able to achieve an emphatic 6–1 victory against the defending champion Zamalek in the league.

At the end of 2005, the club clinched the CAF Champions League for the fourth time in their history after defeating Étoile du Sahel 3–0 in the final in Cairo.

Al-Ahly performed well in the CAF Super Cup by reaching the final against CS Sfaxien, drawing the first leg 1–1 in the Cairo Stadium.

In the CAF Champions League, Al Ahly qualified for the semi-finals, but was knocked out by Espérance Sportive de Tunis due to a refereeing mistake by Joseph Lamptey that gave the hosts a win in the second leg.

A 2–1 second leg victory to Al Ahly at the Stade Olympique de Radès added the seventh African champions title in the history of the club.

[68][69] Al-Ahly, led by Hossam el-Badri, achieved fourth place in the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, with a victory in the first match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima 2–1.

[77] Al-Ahly reached the final of the 2017 CAF Champions League, drawing 1–1 with Wydad AC at Borg El Arab Stadium.

On 9 April 2019, Al-Ahly was knocked out of the 2018–19 CAF Champions League in the quarter-finals after suffering a 5–0 loss in the first leg to South Africa's Mameloudi Sundowns.

[81] Al-Ahly won the 2018–19 league title despite a rough start, as results eventually improved and winter signings helped with team performance.

[95] On 21 September 2021, Al-Ahly lost the Egyptian Super Cup to Tala'ea El Gaish in a 3–2 defeat on penalties,[96] This resulted in a disciplinary action by the club's board, deducting £E300,000 from the players, football director, and the entirety of the coaching staff salaries.

[101] Marcel Koller won his first trophy after Al Ahly beat rival Zamalek in a 2–0 win for the Egyptian Super Cup.

Al-Ahly under Marcel Koller beat Alexandria's based Smouha SC in a 3–1 win in the Egypt Cup semi-final to meet Pyramids FC in the final.

A couple of weeks later, Al Ahly played Auckland City in the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup, where Al Ahly beat the New Zealand-based team in a 3–0 win to face off CONCACAF Champions League winners Seattle Sounders FC who were competing as the first MLS club to participate in the tournament and their first-ever match in the cup.

Al Ahly achieved a late 1–0 victory and advanced to the semi-final to meet the UEFA Champions League winner Real Madrid.

[102] Al Ahly later won the 13th Egyptian Super Cup in its history after beating Pyramids FC 1–0 at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Both clubs are located in Greater Cairo, and their matches are considered the highlight of the football season with a live broadcast to most of the Middle Eastern and North African countries since the 1960s.

"Arise, Al Ahly" is the club's official anthem written by the journalist Fekry Abaza in 1957 and composed by Umm Kulthum's husband Mahmoud Sherif.

However, the club, which prompted Al Ahly to build its first stadium in 1909 and was called "Al-Hawsh" at the time, which is a colloquial word from the Egyptian dialect meaning "the courtyard" in Arabic.

At the first leg of the Egyptian Premier League 2017–18 season, Al Ahly returned to Cairo International Stadium as its official home ground.

On 14 February 2025, Al Ahly have taken a monumental leap toward realizing their long-awaited vision with the official launch of the "Project of the Century", a sprawling sports city in Sheikh Zayed, west of Cairo, during Friday’s FIFA Club World Cup trophy ceremony.

In 1952, following the July Revolution and the change of ruling regime from Monarchy to Republic, the crown was removed, and replaced with the word "Nady" which means club in arabic.