CAF Confederation Cup
Kwara United join Remo Stars as Nigeria’s Confederation Cup flagbearers
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
The ongoing Aiteo Cup will not produce a that will feature in the CAF Confederation Cup as the draw will hold before the completion of the national cup.
According to a list of participating clubs in the Confederation Cup released by CAF on Sunday, fourth placed Kwara United in the NPFL have been registered as Nigeria’s second team.
What happened in Nigeria is also what has taken place in Egypt where the season for the league has not been concluded ahead of CAF’s draw for the inter-clubs competition.
With the Egyptian season not ending until end of August, the FA decided to pick flagbearers according to results obtained at the end of the first stanza of the Egyptian league.
The decision means that Al Ahly and Zamalek will be playing in the next season of the Champions League as the top two teams, while Pyramids will be accompanied by Future in the Confederation Cup.
For Kwara United, this will be the second time they are taking part in the Confederation Cup having reached the group stage in the 2007 edition where they came last in Group B that had Sudan’s Al-Merrikh Sporting Club, Nigeria’s Dolphins and Egypt’s Ismaily.
Kwara United also featured in the now defunct CAF Cup in 1999 and reached the quarterfinal stage.
Remo Stars and Kwara United will begin the series from the first round as they are not among the 13 clubs that draw bye into the second round.
The teams drawn by are: USMA and JS Saoura of Algeria, Angola’s GD Sagrada Esperança, CS Multidisciplinaire Diables Noirs of Congo, DC Motema Pembe of DR Congo, Pyramids of Egypt, Accra Hearts of Oak of Ghana and RS Berkane of Morocco.
The others are: Marumo Gallants FC of South Africa, Azam FC of Tanzania, Tunisia duo of CS Sfaxien and Club Africaine as well as Zambia’s Zesco United.
Zamalek commenced their CAF Confederation Cup journey with a 1-0 win over Kenya’s Police in the initial leg of the second preliminary round held in Nairobi this Saturday.
Veteran winger Abdallah El-Saied secured the win for the Whites with a precise strike from outside the box just a minute before halftime.
The Cairo giants, winners of the 2023-2024 CAF Confederation Cup title, started the match with relentless pressure on the hosts to clinch victory in the first leg and alleviate pressure before the upcoming return fixture in Cairo next Friday.
“The most important thing for us was to win and achieve our target,” Zamalek coach Gomes said after the game.
Hosts Police FC of Kenya could not breach Zamalek’s resolute defense in search of an equalizer.
Despite notable summer acquisitions, Zamalek’s coach Jose Gomes opted for a standard lineup, integrating young talents in lieu of seasoned players.
“We are now stronger than the previous season, thanks to spending more time with the team and preparing to play in the tournaments that we will participate in,” the Portuguese coach added.
Conversely, Kenya’s Police FC squandered a clear scoring opportunity against Zamalek, missing a crucial chance fifteen minutes before the final whistle, dashing hopes of leveling the score.
Kenya’s Police FC earned their place in this round following a hard-fought 1-0 aggregate victory over Ethiopia Coffee SC.
-Ahram
Nigeria’s Enyimba played a thrilling 0-0 draw with Burkina Faso’s Etoile Filante in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup second round tie in Bamako on Friday.
There have been three previous confrontation with Burkina Faso teams and this Friday encounter was the second time that Enyimba had had to face Etoile Filante.
According to facts supplied by Opta Nigeria, Etoile Filante were Enyimba’s first ever opponent on the continent 22 years ago in March 2002. Ever since, Enyimba have played 157 times on the continent; the highest by any Nigerian club.
Enyimba carry their advantage to the return leg to be played on 22 September.
Nigeria’s sole survivors in the CAF Confederation Cup,Enyimba will face Burkina Faso sides, Etoile de Filante in the second round of the competition.
Enyimba drew bye in the preliminary round while the Burkina Faso team reached the second round after eliminating Hafia of Guinea.
Enyimba, second runners-up in the Nigerian League will be attempting to win the Confederation Cup for the first time for Nigeria as they did in the Champions League 21 years ago.
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