CAF Champions League

Danger Signals for Nigerian Clubs at CAF Competitions

Published

7 years ago

September 20, 2017

BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

The just concluded Nigeria Professional Football League season 2016/17 may be the last to produce three continental competitors if the trio of Plateau United, MFM and Enyimba as well as the eventual winners of the AITEO Cup failed to make appreciable impact in the 2018 CAF inter clubs competitions.

For many years now, Nigeria along with 11 other countries whose leagues are rated among the top 12 in the continent have the privilege of fielding two clubs in each of CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup.

The top 12 are decided based on a five-year ranking conducted since 2004. CAF uses this to determine the number of clubs each affiliated national league association is eligible to enter in both Champions league and Confederation Cup for a particular term.

The 12 best ranked national league associations in Africa were privileged to field two clubs in both CAF Champions league and Confederation Cup. Sports Village Square has gathered that based on the current ranking which CAF has not officially released, the poor performances of Enugu Rangers, FC IfeanyiUbah, Nasarawa United and to some extent, Rivers United in the CAF inter clubs competitions this season, Nigeria is dangerously ranked 12^th – the last of among countries that can have multiple entries.

While Nigeria slipped in the football leagues’ ranking in the continent, Zambia, for instance jumped six steps up the ladder from joint 14^th to ninth. Nigeria remains stagnant at 12^th.

It now means that Zambia will for the first time ever have four clubs in the continents at the same time.

Poor performance by the Nigerian clubs in the coming season may see the country dropping out of the top 12 and only the NPFL champion will then be eligible to feature in the CAF Champions League.

Egypt remains top of the ranking for the 2018 CAF football league season. The country, which teams have dominated the CAF competitions, has 85 points as against Nigeria’s laughable 13. Tunisia with 76 points ranks next while DR Congo follows with 70 points.

In addition, Sports Village Square gathered that South Africa’s Danny Jordan, a CAF executive committee member is pushing for the top leagues like Egypt, Tunisia DR Congo, Algeria and South Africa which are among the top five should henceforth have four clubs in each of the two CAF clubs’ competitions. In essence, while Nigerian league may produce just one continental campaigner, leagues of each of those countries will each have eight clubs.

This is following a pattern already established by UEFA which allocates multiple slots for top European leagues like the English Premiership, Spanish La Liga and the Bundesliga.

“As you can see for both Egypt and South Africa they (CAF) have allocated four places in the Champions League and that is on the basis that these teams are strong, thriving and truly professional teams,” a Zambian football blog, quoted Jordan as saying.

In the ranking of top 40 clubs in Africa, only two Nigerian clubs, Enyimba in the 21^st position and Sunshine Stars of Akure (32^nd) are listed.

CAF Inter-Clubs Ranking For 2018

Rank	Associations	2012 (× 1)		2013 (× 2)		2014 (× 3)		2015 (× 4)		2016 (× 5)		Total Points
Rank	Associations	CL	CC	CL	CC	CL	CC	CL	CC	CL	CC	Total Points
1	Egypt	6	0	7	0	1	4	1	4	6	0	85
2	Tunisia	4	0	3	7	5	1	0	6	0	2	76
3	DR Congo	3	0	0	3	7	0	5	0	0	4	70
4	Algeria	2	0	0	1	5	0	7	0	0	3	62
5	South Africa	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	3	5	0	45
6	Morocco	0	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	3	3	41
7	Sudan	0	5	0	0	2	0	6	0	0	0	35
8	Cote d’Ivoire	0	0	2	0	0	4	0	0	1	0	21
9	Zambia	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	18
10	Congo	0	4	1	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	16
11	Mali	0	4	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	15
12	Nigeria	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	13
13	Cameroon	0	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	12
14	Libya	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	8
15	Ghana	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7
16	Tanzania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5
17	Angola	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
18	Ethiopia	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2

CAF Champions League

Al Ahly to face Esperance in African Champions League final

Published

1 week ago

April 27, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Ahly, Wydad set for Mundial de Clubes FIFA debut – Sundowns, Esperance eyeing other slots

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.

CAF Champions League

CAF Champions League narrows to four teams

Published

4 weeks ago

April 7, 2024

Kunle Solaja

CAF Champions League Quarter-Finals journey mapped out

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.

CAF Champions League

Ahly Edge Closer To CL Semifinals With Narrow Victory Over Simba –

Published

1 month ago

March 30, 2024

Kunle Solaja

Ahly Edge Closer To CL Semifinals With Narrow Victory Over Simba -

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.

-Ahram