Enyimba Draw Raja, Al-Hilal

16 May 2011

Nigeria’s representatives in this year’s CAF Champions League, Enyimba of Aba have been drawn along with Raja Casablanca of Morocco, Al Hilal of Sudan and Cotonsport Garoua of Cameroon in Group A of the lucrative continental football contest.

But the drama of the draws conducted at CAF headquarters in Cairo Sunday paired two eternal, bitter rivals, Al-Ahly of Egypt and Esperance of Tunisia in the same Group B. Mouloudia Alger of Algeria is the other team while the last is to emerge is either Wydad Casablanca of Morocco or Simba of Tanzania.

Mini-league winners and runners-up advance to two-leg semi-finals. The final is also staged on a home-and-away basis with the winners receiving $1.5m and a place at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan.

A notable absentee from the draw was defending champions TP Mazembe of the DR Congo, who were disqualified 24 hours before the draw for fielding an ineligible player in the qualifying rounds.

While the organisers say defender, Janvier Bokungu rejoined Mazembe from Esperance before his contract expired, the Congolese club disagree and will appeal the decision.

“The Mazembe board sees the decision as totally unacceptable and the club is going to appeal. We will take all necessary measures to defend the rights of the club and prove its good faith,” a club statement said.

With 2010 Club World Cup runners-up Mazembe kicked out, the race to become African champions is wide open with Ahly and Esperance slight favourites to fill the top two places in what appears the tougher group.

The other mini-league is even harder to call with so little seemingly separating the contenders and former champions Enyimba and Raja marginal favourites to make the semi-finals.

None of the 24 pool fixtures will capture the imagination more than those between Ahly and Esperance, whose rivalry spans decades with both clubs enjoying spells of superiority over the other. They clashed in the semi-finals last year with Esperance prevailing on the away-goal rule after winning 1-0 at home thanks to a goal that should not have stood as television replays showed Michael Eneramo scoring with his hand.

The final qualifiers for the African Confederation Cup group phase are equally intriguing with former African champions Entente Setif and JS Kabylie of Algeria, ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire and Club Africain of Tunisia included. These two-leg fixtures will be staged in late May and early June while the mini-league fixtures in both competitions start mid-July and finish in the middle of September.

Orange Champions League draw

Group A

Hilal (Sudan)

Coton Sport Garoua (Cameroon)

Enyimba (Nigeria)

Raja (Morocco)

Group B

Ahly (Egypt)

EST (Tunisia)

Moloudia Club d’Alger (Algeria)

Simba (Tanzania) or Widad de Casablanca (Morocco)

AllAfrica – All the Time