NIGERIA Premier Football League (NPFL) champions Remo Stars and runners-up Rivers United will be joining other African clubs in action this weekend as the CAF Champions League returns.
The elite African club competition will reach the second preliminary round this weekend with the Nigerian representatives and the likes of Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, Esperance of Tunisia and Al Ahly of Egypt looking to advance to the group phase.
Remo Stars have a tough hurdle to scale as they are up against experienced campaigners and former champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Nigerian champions will host the 2016 African champions and 2025 runners-up in Abeokuta on Sunday, hoping to take a healthy advantage to South Africa next week.
On their part, River United have a relatively easier challenge as they face Black Bulls of Mozambique.
Finidi George’s side will play the first leg away in Maputo on Saturday, with the return fixture scheduled for Uyo next week.
In another second preliminary round tie, record 12-time African champions Al Ahly of Egypt are away at Aigle Noir of Burundi, with coach Jess Thorup’s men looking to start their title charge on a strong note.
In North Africa, JS Kabylie of Algeria host US Monastir of Tunisia — two sides who cruised through the opening round with emphatic victories and now meet in what promises to be a high-tempo contest.
Elsewhere, four-time winners Espérance de Tunis travel to Burkina Faso to face Rahimo FC, while Petro Atletico of Angola visit Stade d’Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire aiming to maintain their dominant form from the previous round.
Tanzanian giants Young Africans face Silver Strikers of Malawi, while Orlando Pirates of South Africa travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo to face St Éloi Lupopo in another thrilling fixture.
Several emerging sides will also be out to cause upsets in this round.
Kenya’s Police FC host Sudanese giants Al Hilal Omdurman, while Vipers SC of Uganda welcome Power Dynamos from Zambia in an East–Southern Africa showdown,
Horoya AC of Guinea meet FAR Rabat from Morocco in one of the most balanced pairings of the weekend.
The clash between defending champions Pyramids FC (Egypt) and Ethiopian Insurance, as well as the meeting between RS Berkane (Morocco) and Al Ahly Tripoli (Libya), has been postponed.
Pyramids and Berkane will instead face each other in the CAF Super Cup on Saturday in Cairo – a battle between the winners of last season’s TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.