2020 Egypt Cup final

As an Egyptian Premier League club, Al Ahly started in the round of 32 where they were drawn with Egyptian Second Division team Beni Suef. Al Ahly won 3–1 with two goals from Walid Azaro and one from Ahmed El Sheikh.[5] In the round of 16, they were drawn against Egyptian Second Division team Tersana and won 2–1 thanks to a brace from Junior Ajayi.[6] In the quarter-finals, they were drawn against another Egyptian Second Division side, Abou Qir Fertilizers, and won 2–1 with both goals coming from Walid Soliman in the first half of the match.[7] In the semi-finals, they were drawn with an Egyptian Premier League side for the first time this season, against Al Ittihad and progressed to the final after a controversial 2–1 win with Mohamed Magdy and Hamdy Fathy on the scoresheet.[8] After the match, Al Ittihad filed a complaint against the match referee Mohamed Maarouf for his poor decisions made during the game, especially before Al Ahly's second goal, that "helped" them to win the game.[9] Numerous former referees and analysts supported the move made by the club, including ON Time Sports' analyst Ahmed El Shenway, who said that errors made by Maarouf and the VAR referees prevented Al Ittihad from advancing to the final.[10]

As an Egyptian Premier League club, Tala'ea El Gaish also started in the round of 32. They were drawn at home against Egyptian Second Division side Dikernis. Tale'ea El Gaish won 1–0 with a goal from Hossam Salama.[11] In the round of 16, they drew fellow Egyptian Premier League team Misr Lel Makkasa and won 1–0 thanks to a goal from Misr Lel Makkasa's loanee Kevin Muhire.[12] In the quarter finals, they played against fellow Egyptian Premier League side Pyramids and won 3–1 on penalties after the match ended goalless after extra time, with Mohamed Ashraf, Ahmed Kabouria and Ali El Fil scoring all three penalties.[13] In the semi-finals, they were drawn against Egyptian Premier League side and Egypt Cup defending champions Zamalek and progressed to the final after a 3–1 extra time win with two goals from Ahmed Samir and one from new signing Amr Marey.[14]

On 4 December 2020, EFA named Mohamed El Hanafy as the referee for the match. El Hanafy is considered as one of Egypt's finest referees and appeared in numerous matches in the Egyptian Premier League and the Egyptian Second Division during the recent seasons. Ahmed Hossam and Youssef El Bosaty were chosen as the assistant referees, while Mohamed El Sabahy was chosen as the fourth official. Tarek Magdy was named the video assistant referee and was assisted by Mahmoud Ashour.[1]