CAF Champions League
Sudan’s Al Hilal shock Al Ahly, Simba suffer defeat in Dar es Salaam
Sudan Premier League reigning champions Al Hilal picked their first three points in the Group B of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Al Hilal shocked giants Al Ahly 1-0 in a match played at the Al Hilal Stadium in Khartoum. DR Congo International Makabi Lilepo netted the lone goal after 53 minutes, but had his penalty saved later.
Al Ahly fresh from finishing fourth at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup held in Morocco had some chances by Hussein Al Shahat and Percy Tau, but the Sudan team stood firm and defended well.
“It was a difficult match, but the players worked hard to make sure we collect maximum points,” said Al Hilal’s head coach Florent Ibenge after the match.
After losing the opening match 1-0 away to Mamelodi Sundowns, Al Hilal are now second on the log with three points, while the South Africans champions lead with six points. Al Alhi are third on the log, and Coton Sport from Cameroon who fell 1-3 to Mamelodi Sundowns are bottom.
In Dar es Salaam, Simba SC suffered a 3-0 home defeat to Raja Casablanca (Morocco) in a Group C match played at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium. Hamza Khaba gave the visitors a 30th minute lead before Simba returned strongly after the interval, but failed to find the target.
Soufiane Benidida made it 2-0 after 82 minutes, and Ismael Mokadem netted a late penalty after 86 minutes. The win keeps Raja Casablanca top of the Group after they kicked off their campaign with a 5-0 win against Uganda’s Vipers SC last week.
Vipers SC also managed to pick their first point after a goalless draw against Horoya AC of Guinea at their St. Marys Stadium, Kitende. Horoya AC are now second in the group with four points, while Vipers SC are third with a point, and Simba Sc bottom with no point.
Another team from the CECAFA region Al Merriekh from Sudan settled for a goalless draw against Zamalek of Egypt in a match played in Benghazi, Libya. The Sudan team that lost their opening match 1-0 away to Esperance de Tunis (Tunisia) opted to host their matches in Libya since they do not have a Stadium approved by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Tanzania Premier League giants Young Africans SC have made a winning start in the group stage of the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Young Africans SC defeated AS FAR (Morocco) 1-0 in their opening Group B match played at the New Amaan Complex on Saturday.
Prince Dube Mpumelelo netted the lone goal after 58 minutes in a hotly contested match. The Moroccan side tried to fight back, but failed to bet the well organized Young Africans Sc defending line.
Young Africans SC’s head coach Pedro Gonçalves who was only appointed in October this year said it was good to start the group stage with a win. “We still have a lot of work to do ahead of the many matches to be played,” added Goncalves.
The Tanzanian side are now second in the group after record winners Al Ahly (Egypt) later defeated JS Kabylie (Algeria) 4-1 in Cairo last night.
On Sunday another Tanzanian side Simba SC suffered a 1-0 home defeat to visiting Petro de Luanda (Angola) in a Group D match at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Bernardo Dias netted the lone goal after 78 minutes.
Sudan giants Al Hilal SC have made a winning start in the group stage of the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The 10-man Al Hilal side stopped MC Alger (Algeria) 2-1 in the first Group C match played on Friday at the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, Rwanda.
Skipper Abdelrazig Omer gave Al Hilal the lead at the stroke of half time after a good assist by Burundian International Jean-Claude Girumugisha.
After recess the visiting team piled pressure and attacked in numbers. The pressure paid off when Mustafa Karshom deflected the ball into his own net to make it 1-1 after 53 minutes. The defender deflected MC Alger’s Oussama Benhaoua’s hard shot.
Mohamed Abdelrahman was on target after 75 minutes to put Al Hilal ahead again. The Sudan team was reduced to 10-players after Salaheldin Alhassan was sent off with four minutes to full time.
Al Hilal opted to play their matches in Rwanda because of the unrest in Sudan. Al Hilal and El Merriekh have also been cleared to play in the 2025/2026 Rwanda Premier League.
Action returns on Saturday when Tanzanian giants Young Africans SC host AS FAR (Morocco) in a Group B match at the New Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar. On Sunday Simba Sc (Tanzania) will also be in action in a Group D match against Angola’s Petro de Luanda at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
Tanzania Premier League reigning champions Young Africans SC have been placed in a tricky group ahead of the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League group stage.
The draw supervised by CAF’s head of Competitions Division, Nassar Khaled and assisted by African legends Alex Song (Cameroon) and Christopher Katongo (Zambia) was carried out at the Supersport Studio in Johannesburg, South Africa on Monday.
Young Africans SC have been placed in Group B alongside three teams from North Africa that include the 12 time champions Al Ahly (Egypt), AS FAF (Morocco) and Algeria’s JS Kabylie.
Another Tanzanian side Simba SC who reached the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup last season have been placed in Group D alongside Esperance de Sportive (Tunisia), Atletico Petroleos de Luanda (Angola0 and Stade Malien FC (Mali).
Al Hilal SC from Sudan have been placed in Group C alongside 2016 champions Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), MC Alger (Algeria) and FC Lupopo from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The group stage matches will kick off on November 21st running through till February 2026.
Group A: RD Berkane (Morocco), Pyramids FC (Egypt), Rivers United FC (Nigeria), Power Dynamos FC (Zambia)
Group B: Al Ahly (Egypt), Young Africans SC (Tanzania), AS FAR (Morocco), JS Kabylie (Algeria)
Group C: Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Al Hilal SC (Sudan), MC Alger (Algeria), FC Lupopo (DR Congo)
Group D: Esperance de Sportive (Tunisia), Simba SC (Tanzania), Atletico Petroleos de Luanda (Angola), Stade Malien (Mali)
Ethiopian Insurance have bowed out of the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
After picking a 1-1 draw against defending champions Pyramids FC in the first leg second preliminary round, the Egyptian side won the return leg played on Thursday 2-0.
Mostafa Ziko gave Pyramids FC the lead after 11 minutes at the Air Defense Stadium.
The Ethiopian Insurance team continued to defend in numbers as the defending champions attacked in search of more goals.
In injury time of the second-half, Ethiopian Insurance substitute Birikit Kikaleb netted an own goal. Pryamids FC qualified for the group stage on a 2-1 goal aggregate.
Tanzanian sides Young Africans SC and Simba SC are the only teams from CECAFA Zone that have qualified for the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Simba SC and Young Africans SC, all from Tanzania scored an own goal to seal the win.
The draw for the group stage will be conducted on November 3rd live from the SuperSport studios in Johannesburg, South Africa.
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