Tusker FC hold AS Arta Solar 7 in Djibouti

Kenya Premier League champions, Tusker FC forced a 1-1 draw away to AS Arta Solar 7 in the first leg preliminary round of the 2021/2022 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League match played on Saturday.

Tanzanian import Ibrahim Joshua gave Tusker FC the lead after 14 minutes with a well taken volley at the Gouled Stadium in Djibouti.

But the Djibouti with several experienced players fought back strongly to level matters after only two minutes. Alian Traore found the net for the AS Arta Solar 7 team.

The former AS Monaco winger Traore curled in a free kick to beat Tusker FC’s goalkeeper Brian Bwire.

The two teams returned in the second half creating several scoring opportunities, but failed to take them.

AS Arta Solar 7 boosts of former Arsenal & Barcelona midfielder Alexandre Song, Alian Traore and former Cameroon internationals Dany Nounkeu and Carlos Idriss Kameni among others.

The winner over two legs will face 2020/2021 Egyptian Premier League side, Zamalek in the first round.

In the other matches involving teams from the CECAFA region, Burundi’s Le Messager De Ngozi picked a 1-1 away draw to US Gendarmerie Nationale.

Today Zanzibar’s KMKM SC will host Al Attihd (Libya) after CAF moved the match by 24 hours because the Libyan team faced some challenges and arrived late. Mogadishu City Club will host APR FC (Rwanda) in a match to be played in Djibouti, while Young Africans SC (Tanzania) hosts Rivers United (Nigeria), and Fasil Kenema FC (Ethiopia) battle Al Hilal (Sudan).