High stakes for Vita and Constantine in the CAF Champions League

The weekend of 26 and 27 August 2023 will see the second leg of the first preliminary round of the prestigious Champions League Africa. Two teams, AS Vita Club and CS Constantine, suffered first-leg defeats and now find themselves in a tricky situation.

The second leg of the African Champions League first qualifying round got off to a flying start. Rwanda's APR triumphed 2-0 in Kigali over Somalia's Gaadiidka, consolidating their 3-1 aggregate victory. On Friday, Burundi's Bumamuru dazzled by outclassing their Gabonese counterparts CS de Bendjé by a score of 5-1, taking the total to 6-2 from the two clashes, which took place in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. Meanwhile, Sudanese club Al Merrikh qualified at the expense of Congo's AS Otoho in Butare, Rwanda, despite a 0-0 draw, thanks to an away goal advantage from the first leg (1-1). To round things off in style, Orlando Pirates of South Africa completed their mission in Johannesburg by beating Djabal FC of Comoros 3-0, following their narrow 0-1 win in Moroni the previous week.

Early remontada for Vita Club and Constantine

A thrilling spectacle is in store this Saturday at the Stade Olympique in Sousse, Tunisia, where CS Constantine take on Etoile Sahel with the demanding task of reversing their 2-0 defeat on home soil in the first leg. A similar set-up awaits AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who have an imperative to outdo Primeiro de Agosto of Angola. That battle will take place on Sunday at the Stade des Martyrs in Kinshasa, following their 1-0 defeat in Lubango.

AS Douanes Burkina Faso and Al Hilal of Sudan have qualified, following the respective withdrawals of AS GNN of Niger and Salaam FC Bor of South Sudan. The Burkina Faso teams will face Esperance de Tunis, who were exempted from the first round. Other qualified teams who already have their opponents for the second round are APR and Bumamuru. The former will take on Pyramids of Egypt, while the latter will face Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, who also missed out in the first round. It promises to be a thrilling series of matches in this exciting competition.