The 2011-12 Egyptian revolution thrust an unlikely group of young people into the country's political conscience: organized groups of soccer fans called "ultras."
(CNN) -- Egyptian soccer club Al Ahly snatched a late equalizer against Tunisia's titleholders Esperance on Sunday to leave the African Champions League final in the balance.
The Cairo club will travel to Tunis for the second leg on November 17 thankful for the 88th-minute leveler from substitute El-Sayed Hamdy, who canceled out a valuable away goal by Waleed Hichri.
The match was played at an army stadium near Alexandria due to the security problems faced since 74 fans died in February's Port Said tragedy during a match involving Al Ahly and Al Masry.
Some 20,000 spectators were allowed to attend -- only the second time since the deaths that a match in Egypt has not been played behind closed doors.
Al-Masry fans chase Al-Ahly players during riots that erupted after the football match.
Scores dead in Egypt soccer riot
Inside Port Said stadium
Africa Cup of Nations playoffs
Read more: Egyptian ultras seek justice for deaths
The Egyptian league has been suspended since February as the club's militant fans -- known as "ultras" -- have promised to disrupt matches in protest against the lack of action taken by the authorities. An inquiry into the Port Said deaths is ongoing.
A minute's silence in honor of the dead preceded a goalless first half on Sunday, but Esperance took the lead five minutes after the break when Tunisia international defender Hichri netted from Khalil Chamam's corner.
Al Ahly, in the final for the first time since 2008's record sixth title success, were denied by a superb point-blank save by goalkeeper Ben Chrifia until Ahmed Fathy set up striker Hamdy.
"I'm satisfied with that draw, the match was very difficult so it felt like a win for us today," Ahly coach Hossam El-Badry told reporters.
"The performance of Ahly players tonight was affected by the long football stoppage in Egypt. It was also difficult for us to arrange friendly games lately."
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Groups of well organized soccer fans, numbering several thousand, came to prominence during the Battle of the Camels in Tahrir Square. Graffiti eulogizing the ultras covered most of the nearby walls.
Emboldened by their success, groups of ultras would attend and lead many of the post-Mubarak protests in Cairo against the military regime.
The most prominent group was the Ahlawy, the ultras of Al Ahly, Egypt's biggest and most successful club.
The Ahlawy was formed in 2007 as a way of showing better organized support for the team. But it soon became much more.
Such were their numbers that security was tight. Members would be arrested and revolutionary, anti-regime chants could be heard from the stands.
Post Mubarak in 2011, soccer returned to Egypt after a brief suspension of the league. In the security vacuum violence grew. In February this year, 74 fans of Al Ahly, many of them Ahlawy members, died in Port Said after they were attacked by rival fans in the stands.
The ultra groups claim that the deaths weren't the result of thuggery, as claimed by the authorities, but planned by the military as pay-back for their role in the revolution. The trial of over 70 people allegedly involved is ongoing.
Marches were held across Egypt to honor the dead. Here a member of the Ahlawy leads marchers in song in the northern city of Alexandria. The soccer league was canceled. In their aim to achieve justice for the dead, the Ahlawy has launched a successful direct action campaign against the restart of the soccer league until the trial of those accused of the Port Said tragedy is completed.
The lack of competitive soccer is just one of the many problems that has faced Egyptian national team coach Bob Bradley. The former coach of the U.S. men's team has been charged with taking Egypt to Brazil for the 2014 World Cup.
His first competitive match was a World Cup qualifier earlier this year. Fears of violence were so high, the match was played without fans in a remote military stadium outside Alexandria.
Despite the revolution and despite the team having played little or no football, Egypt won their first two World Cup qualifying matches.
Even more incredible has been the performance of Al Ahly in the African Champions League. Despite having no league, and having to play all their home games behind closed doors, the team has reached the two -leg final and is hoping for a seventh title overall.
Egyptian football fans rush on to the field during the clashes.
Flares are thrown in the stadium as tension builds throughout the game.
An Egyptian policeman intervenes as people try to separate rival football fans.
Egyptians gather outside the train station in Cairo as they wait for the arrival of people wounded at the match in Port Said.
Egyptian soldiers help a wounded football Al-Ahly fan after he arrived in Cairo on a military plane.
An Al-Masry fan invades the pitch during the match in Port Said.
Egyptians drive past Port Said Stadium, home of Al-Masry, on February 2, 2012.
A wounded Al-Masry fan is escorted by a medic and a friend following the clashes.
Egyptian medics wheel the body of a victim into a morgue in Cairo on February 2, 2012.
Egyptian women mourn victims of the riot at a morgue in Cairo on February 2.
Egyptian investigators inspect damage at the football stadium in Port Said on Thursday.
Family members and mourners gather at Cairo's railway station as they receive the bodies of football fans killed during clashes between rival fans in Port Said.
Togo's star player is Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor. He is reverred by the country's football fans, with this banner saying: "Adebayor: Togo's only hope".
And it was Adebayor who proved the difference, scoring the goal which sealed a 2-1 win for Togo on the day and a 3-2 triumph on aggregate.
Saturday's playoff matches were overshadowed by events in Dakar, where riots caused Senegal's clash with Ivory Coast to be abandoned.
Ivory Coast were 2-0 up and 6-2 ahead on aggregate when the match was stopped. The Confederation of African football are yet to announce whether Senegal will be sanctioned for the disruption.
Zambia won the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, the first time triumph in their history, after beating the Ivory Coast 8-7 in a dramatic penalty shootout in Libreville.
It was a poignant win for Zambia, who lost 18 members of their squad in a plane crash in Gabon in 1993.
The final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations will be played in Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium, which hosted the 2010 World Cup final, on February 10 2013.
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