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Continental Fixtures Set As CAF Holds Draws For Champions League And Confederation Cup

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SAN FRANCISCO, January 09, (THEWILL) – The draws for this season’s Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League group stage and the additional second preliminary round of the Confederation Cup were held on Friday at CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

Based on the draws, Group A’s Egyptian side Al Ahly will begin the defense of their title against Sudan’s Al-Merreikh, with former winners AS Vita Club of DR Congo and Tanzanian giants Simba S.C completing the group.

In another strong set of pairings, Group B is composed of five-time winners TP Mazembe of DR Congo, 2016 champions Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa, two-time runners-up Al Hilal from Sudan and Algeria’s CR Belouizdad.

In Group C, two-time champions and last season’s semi-finalists, Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club were drawn alongside Horoya AC from Guinea, Angola’s Atletico Petroleos and Kaizer Chiefs from South Africa.

Drawn together in Group D were five-time winners and last season’s beaten finalists Zamalek of Egypt, four-time champions Esperance of Tunisia, Algeria’s MC Alger and the conquerors of Raja Casablanca in the qualifiers, Senegal’s Teungueth.

Meanwhile, for the Confederation Cup, defending champions RS Berkane from Morocco secured automatic qualification for the group stages after Gazelle FC of Chad withdrew. This necessitated a format change by CAF, which they explained at the draws.

“In order to offset this difference, the highest ranked CC team according to CAF’s official clubs ranking for the 2020/2021 season automatically qualified to the group stage of the competition.”

Last year’s beaten finalists Pyramids F.C. of Egypt will renew their search for continental glory when they contend with RC Abidjan from Côte d’Ivoire while 2018 champions Morocco’s Raja Casablanca have a date against Tunisia’s US Monastir.

Tunisia’s triple champions CS Sfaxien will face AS Kigali from Rwanda, while two-time winners Étoile Sportive du Sahel of Tunisia have been matched against Young Buffaloes of Eswatini.

Nkana FC of Zambia have a long-running unbeaten home streak in continental competitions to protect against Morocco’s TAS Casablanca and NAPSA Stars from Zambia will hope to prevail against Kenyan league champions Gor Mahia.

However, Nigeria’s Enyimba opponents have yet to be determined because the fixture between local rivals Rivers United and South Africa’s Bloemfontein Celtic did not hold as scheduled. Ghana’s Asante Kotoko will play E.S. Setif (Algeria).

Having been eliminated from the Champions League by Mamelodi Sundowns, Botswana champions Jwaneng Galaxy are up against South African opposition again in the shape of 2015 runners-up Orlando Pirates.

The remaining ties in the Confederation Cup additional preliminary round are as follows:

F.C. Platinum (Zimbabwe) v ASC Jaraaf (Senegal)

Primerio de Agosto (Angola) v Namungo F.C. (Tanzania)

Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya) v DC Moteme Pemba (DR Congo)

Stade Malien (Mali) v JS Kabylie (Algeria)

AS SONIDEP (Niger) v Coton Sport F.C. (Cameroon)

AS Bouenguidi (Gabon) v Salitas F.C. (Burkina Faso)

The fixtures of the additional second preliminary round will take place on February 14 with the second legs taking place on February 21, with the winners advancing to this season’s group stage.

About the Author

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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

Jude Obafemi, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.

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