CAF Champions League
Rivers United Awaits Confederation Cup Foes
Two former winners in CAF’s inter-clubs competitions will on Wednesday star in the draw for the league segment of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.
They are Egypt’s Wael Gomaa and DR Congo’s Tresor Mputu Mabi. The www.sportsvillagesquare.com gathered that CAF chose them for their exploits in the continental clubs competitions.
Gomaa and Mputu are famous names with the African Club Championships, having lifted the Holy Grail of continental club football at least once. The 41 year old Gomaa, who retired in 2014, won unprecedented six CAF Champions League titles with Egyptian giants, Al Ahly in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2013, as well as five CAF Super Cup titles.
The rugged defender was a member of the Ahly ‘golden generation’ together with the likes of Essam El Hadary, Mohamed Aboutreika, Mohamed Barakat and Shady Mohamed that dominated African football at their peak.
He also bagged over 100 appearances with the Egypt national team appearing in five successive finals of the Africa Cup of Nations – 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010; and being on the victorious side three times – 2006, 2008 and 2010.
The www.sportsvillagesquare.com also gathered that Congolese Mputu who is 31, is undoubtedly one of the most skillful players of his generation domestically and beyond.
Top scorer in the continental club championships with 43 goals, he remains an iconic figure in his native DR Congo especially with Lubumbashi outfit, TP Mazembe, where he is idolized.
He was one of the pillars behind the rise to fame of Mazembe in the mid 2000’s guiding them to CAF Champions League glory in 2009 and the CAF Super Cup same year.
After a brief stint with Kabuscorp of Angola, he rejoined ‘Les Corbeaux’ in late 2016 and has continued to impress.
The offensive mid fielder was also revelation of the maiden edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in Cote d’Ivoire, where he was adjudged the Most Valuable Player as DR Congo won the title.
The two players will assist CAF Acting General Secretary, Essam Ahmed, to conduct the draw to be attended by officials of the participating clubs.
Defending champions Al Ahly of Egypt will take on perennial rivals Esperance of Tunisia in this year’s African Champions League final after winning their semi-finals on Friday.
Al Ahly, who have won five of the last seven editions and a record 11 in total, overcame TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo in Cairo and Esperance pulled off a surprise 1-0 win over South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria.
Al Ahly won 3-0 after a goalless draw in the first leg in Lubumbashi for a comfortable aggregate triumph while Esperance’s 20-year-old defender Raed Bouchniba hammered home a clinical shot in the 57th minute to earn the Tunisians a 1-0 away win and 2-0 aggregate victory.
The match was delayed by 70 minutes after a lightning strike in South Africa’s capital knocked out some of the floodlights amid a heavy thunderstorm.
Sundowns won the new African Football League this season and were one of the favourites for the Champions League but fell short of the final for an eighth season in a row.
Esperance’s 20-year-old goalkeeper Amanallah Memmich produced fine saves as the South African forwards fluffed their lines and the win also ensured a place for Esperance in next year’s Club World Cup in the U.S.
Al Ahly took until the 68th minute to break the deadlock against Mazembe when defender Mohamed Abdel-Moneim scored.
Wessam Abou Ali added a second in the 83rd minute, stretching out his leg to apply a clever finish and Akram Tawfiq confirmed their superiority with a stoppage-time third.
Esperance host the first leg of the final on May 18 with the return in Cairo seven days later.
Esperance won the last of their four Champions League titles in 2019 and have been runners-up four times.
From the original 54 teams from 42 countries that began the race last year, the CAF Champions League has now narrowed to four teams as a whopping 50 have been eliminated.
The four elite clubs in the semi-finals are Al Ahly of Egypt, Esperance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns and TP Mazembe of DR Congo.
Title holders and record champions Al Ahly are still on track to defend their title as they beat Simba SC in Cairo to secure their place while four-time winners Esperance Sportive de Tunis were made to labour hard against Asec Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire.
The reigning African Football League (“AFL”) Champions and 2025/16 winners Mamelodi Sundowns were pushed to the end by Tanzania’s Young Africans in South Africa.
Five-time winners TP Mazembe of DR Congo pulled one of the best performances this weekend with a 2-1 away win over Atletico Petroleos of Luanda after the first leg ended goalless.
The semis will be played on home and away basis on 19-20 April 2024 (first leg) with the Second Leg scheduled for 26-27 April 2024.
In the first semi-final, Al Ahly (Egypt) will play TP Mazembe (DR Congo) in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. Esperance Sportive de Tunis will play Mamelodi Sundowns in the second semi-final.
CAF will announce the dates and kick-off dates in due course.
Egyptian giants Ahly took a significant stride towards securing a spot in the CAF Champions League semifinals following their hard-fought 1-0 win against Tanzania’s Simba on Friday, thanks to an early goal by midfielder Ahmed “Koka” Nabil.
Right from the start, the hosts launched relentless attacks, aiming to find an early breakthrough. However, Ahly’s resolute and well-organized defense thwarted all of their attempts.
Simba’s first notable chance came when midfielder Sadio Kanouté headed a cross from Clatous Chama following a corner, but his effort sailed over the bar from close range.
Just four minutes into the game, Ahly defender Mohamed Hany found himself in possession on the right side of Simba’s field. He cut inside and delivered a cross that was mishandled by the defense, leading to a powerful shot from Koka. The ball ricocheted off the head of the Simba goalkeeper, struck the post, and ultimately found the back of the net.
Despite Simba’s control of the match, as they pushed forward in search of an equalizer, Ahly’s solid defense and the heroics of goalkeeper Mostafa Shobier denied them any scoring opportunities. Ahly relied on swift counterattacks but their attempts to extend their lead fell short.
Shobier produced a magnificent save in the 39th minute, blocking Che Malone’s right-footed shot from the center of the box. He came to the rescue again just before halftime, denying Sadio Kanouté’s right-footed shot from the right side of the box and turning it into a corner.
In injury time, Shobier made another brilliant save, stopping Saïdi Ntibazonkiza’s close-range effort, which rebounded to Shomari Kapombe, who shot the ball high over the bar.
In the second half, Simba continued to dominate proceedings but failed to find the equalizing goal despite their persistent efforts.
Ahly coach Marcel Koller made a tactical double substitution in the 67th minute, introducing Reda Slim for Hussein El-Shahat and Taher Mohamed Taher in place of Percy Tau.
The move injected new energy into Ahly’s attack, with the Moroccan talisman creating two opportunities for the Red Devils.
Koller later made another double substitution, bringing on Kahraba for Modeste and Afsha for Attia.
In injury time, Kahraba had a chance to extend Ahly’s lead when he received a long ball from Afsha, but he struggled to control it. A minute later, Kahraba received a cross from Slim and entered the box, but once again his finishing touch eluded him.
With this narrow victory, Ahly now hold the advantage and move closer to securing a spot in the semifinals, with the second leg taking place in Cairo on Friday.
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