Confederation Cup takes centre stage on Sunday

Sunday Apr 07, 2019. 09:15

Africa’s second-tier contention competition, the CAF Confederation Cup, reaches the quarterfinal stage this afternoon and evening with four first-leg matches.

First up on the slate are two games kicking off at 15h00 CAT in Kitwe and Nairobi: Gor Mahia v RS Berkane and Nkana v CS Sfaxien respectively.

Kenya’s Mahia have been one of the surprise packages of the tournament thus far and will need their excellent home form to continue against a RSB team which was very impressive in topping their group ahead of fellow Moroccan clubs Hassania Agadir and Raja Casablanca, as well as Congo’s AS Otoho.

Zambians Nkana punched above their weight to advance ahead of compatriots Zesco United and Ghana’s Asante Kotoko, but they’ll need to go to an even higher level when they host Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien – the ‘Juventus of the Arabs’ are three-time champions of this competition and looking to claim title number four.

On the subject of teams with great pedigree in the Confederation Cup, Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel are four-time winners of the competition. They are the hosts for the early evening (18h00 kick-off) match in Sousse which sees Sudanese giants Al Hilal looking to prove that they can still compete for top honours on the continent.

Finally, the late kick-off at 21h00 is a true North African derby as Morocco’s Hassania Agadir welcome the Egyptian giants Zamalek to Stade Adrar. HUSA are breaking new ground for their history, while the White Knights are looking to bolster their already formidable reputation in CAF club competition.

The return leg games are set to be played next Sunday, 14 April.

CAF Confederation Cup fixtures, 7 April
All times CAT

Sunday 7 April
15:00: Gor Mahia v RS Berkane
15:00: Nkana v CS Sfaxien
18:00: Etoile du Sahel v Al Hilal
21:00: Hassania Agadir v Zamalek