Enyimba get testy group battles with Zamalek, Al Masry, Black Bulls

Nigeria’s sole surviving team in African inter-club competitions, Enyimba of Aba, must be in their best elements when the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup begins if they must prosper in the competition.

The 2003 and 2004 African champions were yesterday drawn against defending champions, Zamalek of Egypt, and their compatriots Al Masry in the group stage of the championship.

The CAF Confederation Cup is the only African championship that Enyimba have not won since they were founded in 1976, but to break that jinx, they must finish among the best two teams in Group B, which also contains Black Bulls Maputo of Mozambique.

Enyimba qualified for the Confederation Cup group phase by beating Burkina Faso’s Etoile Filante 3-2 in the last qualifying round, but games against Zamalek and Al Masry are expected to be tougher owing to their pedigree. Getting thus far also means that Black Bulls are not in the competition to make up the numbers.

Zamalek secured their place in the CAF Confederation Cup group stage by defeating Kenya’s Police FC 3-1 on aggregate in the second preliminary round last September, while Al Masry earned their spot by defeating Al-Hilal of Libya 5-3 on penalties, in the second leg of the competition’s second preliminary round, following a dramatic 5-5 aggregate draw.

In other groups, 2023 Confederation Cup champions, USMA Alger of Algeria, are drawn in Group C alongside ASEC Mimosas of Côte d’Ivoire, Jaraaf of Senegal, and Orapa United of Botswana.

Group A has Simba SC (Tanzania), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), CS Constantine (Algeria) and Bravos do Maquis (Angola), while Group B comprises RSB Berkane (Morocco), Stade Malien Bamako (Mali), Stellenbosch (South Africa) and Desportivo Lundavs Sul (Angola).

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