Al Ahly’s Abdel Hafiz says CAF Champions League draw is tough

epa06585281 (CORRECTION) This is to amend images epa06585275, epa06585274, epa06585273, epa06585272, epa06585271, epa06585270, issued on 06 March 2018, correcting ALL IPTC FIELDS and Captionbody after "during". The revised caption reads: .... during the African Champions League (CAF) Round of 32 match between Al Ahlyvs CF Mounana at international cairo Stadium in Cairo, Egypt, 06 March 2018. EPA/KHALED ELFIQI (CORRECTION) CAPTION CORRECTION

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Friday Mar 23, 2018. 18:00

In the wake of discovering their CAF Champions League group stage opponents, Al Ahly director of football Sayed Abdel-Hafiz says they will face an uphill battle.

The Red Devils are in Group A with Esperance, Botswana’s Township Rollers and Kampala Capital City Authority of Uganda.

Abdel-Hafiz has commented on his side’s CAF Champions League group stage draw which took place on Wednesday, refuting claims that it is an easy draw.

“The order of games is tough, as well as facing Esperance in the first game. However, we know the Tunisian side well and they know everything about Al Ahly too,” Abdel-Hafiz said.

“In Africa you have to wait for the first few games to understand the calibre of the oppositions, perhaps you find a strong team appear in a surprising way.

“KCCA and Township Rollers overcame big teams in the preceding round which proves that playing against them will not be easy.”

The group stage kicks off on the weekend of May 4-6 and runs until the midweek of August 28-29, with the top two teams from each group advancing into the quarterfinals.