CAF Club Competition: Nigerian Clubs Get Opponents
The four Nigerian clubs participating in CAF club competitions in the 2023/2024 season have discovered their opponents.
The draws were announced by the Confederations of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday.
The draw which took place in Egypt’s capital, Cairo on Tuesday witnessed the attendance of 54 participating clubs who had qualified to participate in the first preliminary stage from the 42 member nations.
Enyimba, Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) champions, will face Ahli Benghazi of Libya in the first preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.
The Peoples Elephant, who won the 2023 abridged NPFL campaign, will battle the Libyan club for a place in the next round of the competition.
Many vividly recollect how Enyimba were ousted during their last participation in the CAF interclub competition by Al Ittihad who sent the People’s Elephant packing in the knockout phase.
The tie winners will play the winners of the clash between AS Coton Sport of Cameroon and ASEC Mimosa of Ivory Coast clash for a slot in the group stages.
On the other hand, debutants, Remo Stars, will be wrestling it out against Ghanian club Medeama for a progression to the second stage in the Champions League. Medeama SC are the reigning champions of the Ghanaian Premier League.
The winner of the encounter between Remo Stars and Medeama SC will face Horoya FC of Guinea for a slot in the competition’s group stages.
The first round matches are scheduled to be played within 18-20 August in Libya and Ghana respectively for Enyimba and Remo Stars.
Confederation Cup
In the CAF Confederation Cup, Bendel Insurance will commence its return to continental football against ASO Chief of Algeria, while Rivers United are seeded, hence exempted from the first round of the qualifiers.
The Pride of Rivers will face the winner of Burkina Faso’s Etiole Flante and Ziguinchor of Senegal in the final round for a place in the group stages.
The first legs of the matches will hold between August 18 and 20, while the second legs are scheduled for two weekends later.
