Alaa El-Hamouly began his football career with Al-Ahly, but in 1949 moved to their rival Zamalek (then known as the Faruk Club), where he would spend the remainder of his playing days, until his 1961 retirement. During that time, he won the Cairo League (predecessor to the current Egyptian Premier League) three times (1951-1953) and the Egypt Cup six times (1952, 1955, 1957-1960). He also represented Egypt (known as the United Arab Republic from 1958 through 1971) internationally at two editions of the Olympic football tournament. In 1952 the country was eliminated in the qualifying round, while in 1960 it lost two and tied one of its matches in the preliminary round, which eliminated it from the competition. In between, he played at the first two editions of the Africa Cup of Nations, in 1957 and 1959, both of which Egypt won. Following his retirement, he coached for Shibin El Kom and El Sharkia, and later became an administrator with Zamalek.