CAF Champions League
Young Africans SC, Vipers SC kick start CAF Champions League campaign with away ties
Two teams from the CECAFA Zone Young Africans SC and Vipers SC will be the first teams to test action in the first preliminary round of the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League on Friday.
The Tanzanian Premier League giants Young African SC, fresh from winning the Community Shield will play away to debutants Wiliete Sport Club of Angola.
Romain Folz, the Young Africans SC head coach has made it clear that the team is going all out to try and get a comfortable win before the return leg.
“Our mission is to go and try and get a good win away in Angola, so that we make our work easier in the return leg in-front of our fans,” said Folz.
In Cape Town at the Atholone Stadium, Uganda Premier League champions Vipers SC will be in against against African Stars FC (Namibia).
Ivan Jacky Minnaert, the Vipers SC coach says his team is well prepared for the match. He made it clear that the International friendly matches they played in Rwanda against Police FC and Tanzania’s Azam FC also helped them shape up well.
“My team has prepared really well and we have players who are fresh from the TotalEnergies CAF African Nations Cup. We are confident we shall get a positive result before hosting the Namibian team at home,” added Minnaert.
Vipers SC will look to the experience of midfielder Taddeo Lwanga who rejoined the team from Rwanda’s APR FC. The Club will also look to the foreign players signed last month, Kevin Dasylva Bady (DR Congo), Odili Chukwuma (Nigeria) and Liberian Mark Yallah.
Action continues on Saturday for CECAFA teams when Ethiopian Insurance FC host Zanzibar’s Mlandega FC, and Mogadishu Scity Club bttle Kenya Police FC in Nairobi.
Tanzania’s Simba SC will also be in action away to Gaborone Utd, and El Merriekh take on Saint Eloi Lupopo (DR Congo). Burundi champions Aigle Noir will host ASAS Djibouti Telecom, while Jamus SC (South Sudan) entertain Al Hilal on Sunday.
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.
Simba SC have booked a place in the group stage of the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The Tanzania Premier League side became the third team in the CECAFA Zone to qualify for the group stage.
After winning the first leg 3-0 away to Eswatini’s Nsingizini Hotspurs FC, Simba SC settled for a goalless draw in the return leg played at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es salaam on Sunday.
Simba SC who lost out in the final of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup last season have now joined other CECAFA teams Young Africans SC (Tanzania) and Al Hilal SC (Sudan) in the group stage of Africa’s biggest Club competition.
Meanwhile in a delayed first leg match played on Sunday, Ethiopian Insurance FC held reigning champions Pyramids FC (Egypt) to a 1-1 draw in a match played in Cairo.
In-form DR Congo International Fiston Mayele gave Pyramids FC the lead after 11 minutes, but Biruk Mulugeta made it 1-1 with seven minutes to the end of the match. The return leg will be played on October 30th to decide which team progresses to the group stage.
Tanzania Premier League reigning champions have stormed the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League group stage.
Young Africans SC defeated Silver Strikers FC (Malawi) 2-0 in the return leg of the second preliminary round on Saturday to qualify on a 2-1 goal aggregate.
After only six minutes Dickson Job netted from a well taken Mohamed Doumba corner kick to send the fans chanting at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
The home side continued to dominate play with Maxi Nzengeli and Duke Abuya causing the Silver Strikers FC all sorts of trouble.
Pacôme Zouzoua made it 2-0 after 34 minutes when he cleverly finished off a well weighed in Nzengeli cross to beat the Silver Strikers FC goalkeeper George Chikooka.
After recess the Young Africans SC side continued to dominate play, but were denied opportunities to score more goals. It is the fifth straight time that Young Africans SC qualify for the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
In another match played by a team from the CECAFA Zone, Aigle Noir FC (Burundi) lost 1-0 to a 10-man Al Ahly at the Cairo International Stadium. The African giants qualified for the group stage on a 2-0 goal aggregate.
Young Africans SC now join Al Hilal (Sudan), Al Ahly (Egypt), Power Dynamos (Zambia), Saint Eloi Lupopo (DR Congo), JS Kabylie (Algeria) into the group stage.
On Sunday Tanzania’s Simba SC who are leading 3-0 after the first leg will host Nsingizini Hotspurs FC (Eswatini) in the return leg, while Ethiopian Insurance battle reigning champions Pyramids FC (Egypt) in the delayed first leg.
Sudan giants Al Hilal SC have qualified for the group stage of the 2025/2026 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Al Hilal dispatched Kenya Police FC 3-1 in the return leg played on Friday at the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Benghazi, Libya.
Nigerian forward Sunday Adetungi gave Al Hilal the lead after 37 minutes as the first half ended in their favour.
In the second half the Kenya Premier League reigning champions made it 1-1 after 55 minutes through Erick Zakayo. As Kenya Police FC tried to push more players in attack, Adetunji netted the second goal after 64 minutes.
With the clock ticking away with nine added minutes Ahmed Salem scored Al Hilal SC’s third goal to ensure they qualify for the group stage on a 4-1 goal aggregate.
At the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia, Uganda’s Vipers SC failed to beat Power Dynamos to advance to the group stage.
After losing the first leg 2-1, Vipers SC could only manage a 1-1 draw I the return leg match played on Friday. Kenyan forward Moses Shumah gave the home side the lead after 68 minutes, and Karim Watambala leveled matters 10 minutes to the end of the match.
Tanzania’s Young Africans SC will host Silver Strikers FC on Saturday in the return leg with the hope of turning tables after losing the first leg 1-0.
Another Tanzanian side Simba SC will host Eswatini’s Nsingizini Hotspurs FC on Sunday at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam.
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