African Champions League list out
CAIRO. - Holders Wydad Casablanca head a list of 10 former winners in the draw for next year’s African Champions League soccer race, facing a tough struggle in their bid to buck the trend and retain their title.
Many of the usual suspects return to the fray, including record eighttime winners Al Ahly of Egypt, who were upset in this year’s final by the Moroccans.
African Confederation Cup holders TP Mazembe Englebert of the Democratic Republic of Congo will also be highly fancied along with compatriots AS Vita Club, who won their only title in 1973, but were runners-up just three years ago.
The north African challenge also includes the Algerian duo of Mouloudia Alger (winners in 1976) and Entente Setif (1988, 2014) and the perennial Tunisian contenders Esperance (1994, 2011).
South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, who were 2016 winners and knocked out in this year’s quarter-finals by Wydad on penalties, are back for a fourth successive year and there is a return for ASEC Abidjan of the Ivory Coast, whose sole victory in the continent’s top club competition came in 1998.
In all entries have come in from all but nine of the 56 member, and associate members, countries of the Confederation of African Football.
Missing out are the Cape Verde Islands, Chad, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Eritrea, Namibia, Reunion, Sao Tome e Principe, Sierra Leone and Somalia.
Again, the 12 best ranked countries - in terms of the achievement of their representatives in the two annual African club competitions over the last five years - get to enter two teams.
The rest receive just one in each of the two competitions.
It is the first time Zambia have been allowed two in each competition, knocking Cameroon out of the top 12 and cutting their entries in half.
The Central African Republic, Lesotho, Togo and Uganda are only entering a team in the Champions League, while Djibouti are making a rare appearance, but sending police team, Gendarmerie Tnale, to the Confederation Cup.
As is tradition, there is no drawing of lots, but rather a tennis-style draw created by CAF’s secretariat and signed off by the organisation’s inter-clubs competition committee that is largely based on geographical considerations in an effort to keep travel costs down for clubs in the early rounds.
The committee meets next week in Cairo and once they have approved the draw, it will be released by CAF. A draw in April for the later stages of both competition is conducted in a more conventional format and in public.
ALGERIA: Entente Setif, Mouloudia Alger CONGO: AC Leopards, AS Otoho DR CONGO: AS Vita Club, TP Mazembe Englebert EGYPT: Al Ahly, Misr Makkassa IVORY COAST: ASEC Abidjan, Williamsville AC MALI: Stade Malien, Real Bamako MOROCCO: DH El Jadidi, Wydad Casablanca (holders) NIGERIA: Plateau United, MFM FC SOUTH AFRICA: Bidvest Wits SUDAN: Al Hilal, Al Merreikh TUNISIA: Esperance, Etoile Sahel ZAMBIA: Zesco United, Zanaco
ANGOLA: Primeiro Agosto BENIN: To be confirmed by the member association BOTSWANA: Township Rollers BURKINA FASO: RC Kadiogo BURUNDI: Lydia Ludic Burundi Academic CAMEROON: To be confirmed by the member association (Eding Sport) CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Olympic Real Bangui EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Leones Vegetarianos ETHIOPIA: St George GABON: CF Mounana GAMBIA: Gambia Armed Forces GHANA: Aduana Stars GUINEA: Horoya GUINEA BISSAU: Benfica KENYA: Gor Mahia LESOTHO: Bantu FC LIBERIA: LISCR FC LIBYA: Al Tahadi MADAGASCAR: CNaPS MALAWI: Be Forward Wanderers MAURITANIA: ASAC Concorde. MAURITIUS: Pamplemousse SC MOZAMBIQUE: UD Songo NIGER: AS Fan RWANDA: Rayon Sports SENEGAL: Generation Foot SEYCHELLES: St Louis SWAZILAND: Mbabane Swallows SOUTH SUDAN: Al Salam TANZANIA: Young Africans TOGO: AS Port Lome UGANDA: Kampala Capital City Authority ZANZIBAR: JKU SC ZIMBABWE: FC Platinum. ESPN.