The first leg of the African Champions League final takes place Sunday, with Egypt's Al Ahly hosting Coton Sport of Cameroon. Al Ahly has already taken the title a record five times, a feat matched only by compatriots El Zamalek, while Coton Sport is making its first appearance in the final.

Al Ahly, which won the competition in 2005 and 2006, used to be invincible in its 60,000 Cairo International Stadium. But last year, after tying the final's away leg 0-0 to Tunisia's Etoile du Sahel, it shipped three goals at home in the final's second leg, losing the cup in the process. Ahly's Portuguese coach Manuel Jose said his team's form has suffered at home because of the fans' huge expectations, and that it's more comfortable on the road with the pressure removed.

Coton Sport, from the northern Cameroon town of Garoua, is the first Cameroonian team to make the final since 1980, when Canon Yaoundé won the last of its three titles. In the semifinal it beat the Power Dynamos of Zimbabwe 5-0 over two games. The team was only founded in 1986, but has won the last five national league titles, making its total nine overall.

The second leg will be in Cameroon November 16. The winner will earn $1 million and a place at December's World Club Cup in Japan.

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