Al Hilal defeat Bahrain’s Manama Club in 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup

Sudan Premier League reigning champions Al Hilal stopped visiting Manama Club 3-0 on Monday in the first leg of the first qualifying round in the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup.

After a goalless first half at the Al Hilal Stadium in Omdurman, Fabrice Luamba Ngoma gave the home side the lead after 77 minutes. In-form Makabi Lilepo and Mohamed Abdelrahman Yousif added two more goals to give head coach Florent Ibenge’s team a comfortable win.

The return leg will be played on April 10^th, 2023 at the Khalifa Sports City Stadium in Isa Town, Bharain. The winner will face between CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) and Qatar SC in the second qualifying round.

The match was also a good rehearsal for Al Hilal as they prepare to face South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns this weekend in a crucial TotalEnergies CAF Champions League group match in Khartoum.

Another Sudan Premier League side El Merriekh will face Syria’s Jishreen next month in the first qualifying round.

Djibouti Premier League reigning champions AS Arta Solar 7 were eliminated in the playoff round, while Horseed FC (Somalia) were ejected in the first preliminary round.

A 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, also known as the King Salman Club Cup has this year attracted 37 teams from Asia and Africa in the tournament which has a total of US$10 million of prize money. 

The winners will bag US$6,000,000, while the runners-up will pocket US $2,500,000. The semi-finalists will take US$200,000, quarter-finalists US$150,000, and the teams in the group stage US$100,000, and Preliminary round US$20,000.