African Football League: Facing Al Ahly will be a huge task – Simba coach

The head coach of Simba SC, Roberto Oliveira has said facing giants Al Ahly in their quarter final tie of the inuagural African Football League (AFL) will not be an easy task.

Simba SC, the Tanzania Premier League giants who also reached the quarter final stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League last season were last weekend drawn to face the Egyptian side with the first leg taking place on October 20th in Dar es Salaam.

Oliveira admitted that facing Al Ahly is very tricky because they are a good and experienced team who are also the reigning African champions. ” I know they don’t have a good record at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, but this does not make us satisfied because we will start at home and we need a win before the return leg in Cairo, ” added the coach.

But before facing the 11 time CAF Champions League winners, Simba SC will have to prepare to face Zambia’s Power Dynamos to decide if they make it to the group stage of the 2023/2024 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.

While Simba SC are the only team in the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) Zone that have been drawn in the AFL because high ranking, the Southern Zone will see Petro du Luanda from Angola facing Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) in the other quarter final tie to be played over two legs. But CAF is awaiting to hear information on the appeal Petro du Luanda has filed with the Angolan Football Association over a discipline matter.

DR Congo’s TP Mazembe, who have won the Champions League five times will face Tunisia’s Esperence, Enyimba FC (Nigeria) battle Wydad Casablanca. The return legs will be played between Ocotber 24-25th.

The winning teams will qualify for the semi final stage also to be played on a home and away basis. The semi final stage will take place between October 29 and November 1, while the finals are slated for November 5th and November 11th for the first and second leg respectively.