*Rivers United drawn bye as Insurance face ASO Chlef in Confederation Cup
Enyimba FC and Remo Stars have been handed tricky ties as the Confederation of African Football (CAF) held the Preliminary First Round draws for the CAF Champions League yesterday in Cairo, Egypt.
Nigeria champions, Enyimba, will face Ahly Benghazi of Libya while Remo Stars will contend with the Ghanaian Champions, Medeama FC.
While People’s Elephant is not new to the competition having twice won the CAF Champions League trophy in 2003 and 2004,Remo Stars are making their Champions League debut barely a season after debuting in the CAF Confederation Cup where they got booted out in the preliminary first round against ASFAR of Morocco.
Enyimba return to the Champions League three seasons after they were defeated by Al Ittihad of Libya in the second preliminary round on technicalities despite winning the first leg 2-0 in Aba.
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The first leg of the initial round holds in the weekend of 18-20 August while the return leg will be played a week later. Both Nigerian representatives are playing at away first.
Meanwhile, 2023 Federation Cup winners, Bendel Insurance will slug it out with Algeria’s FA Cup champions ASO Chlef in the first preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup .
The Benin Arsenals host the North Africans at the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium in Benin on August 20 and later travel to Algiers for the reversed fixture on August 27 at the Mohamed Boumezrag Stadium in Chlef, Algeria.
The winners of the two legged fixtures will in the second round of the qualifiers play against RS Berkane of Morocco for a place in the group stage.
Nigeria’s second representatives in the second tier club competition, Rivers United are drawn bye in the first preliminary round and will await the winner between Senegalese’s Ziguinchor and Burkinabes’ Etoile Filante in the second round in October.
In a related development, the Club Owners Association of Nigeria is confident that the four teams representing Nigeria on the continent will be worthy ambassadors of the league.
Vice chairman of the body, Kunle Soname made this assertion during a meeting with Nigeria Football Federation President Ibrahim Musa Gusau in Abuja.
“I’m glad that the four teams that will be flying the nations flag on the continent this term have pedigrees as well as the solid backings of their state governments and sponsors.
“We all know the pedigree of Enyimba, Rivers United and Bendel Insurance. And for Remo Stars, we will not be found wanting when the time comes because we were here last season and the experience garnered will stand us in good stead in our second coming,” stated the president of Remo Stars.