Young Africans face uphill task in Caf Cup

What you need to know:

  • Young Africans will start its campaign against Gor Mahia on May 5 in Nairobi, before playing Rayon Sport on May 15 in Dar es Salaam

Dar es Salaam. Young Africans are facing an uphill task to qualify for the quarterfinals of the Confederation African Football (Caf) Cup which will kick off on May 4.

Young Africans have been grouped with Rayon Sport of Rwanda, Gor Mahia of Kenya and USM Algiers of Algeria in group D.

Group A is made up of Raja Casablanca, Asec Mimosas, Aduaa Stars and As Vita Club, while group B comprises Al Masry, UD Songo, RS Berkane and Al Hilal Omdurman. Group C brings together Djoliba, Williammsville AC, CARA Brazzaville and Nigeria’s Enyimba.

Young Africans will start their campaign against Gor Mahia of Kenya on May 5 in Nairobi, before playing Rayon Sport of Rwanda on May 15 at the National Stadium. The Dar es Salaam giants will be in action again on July 17, playing Rayon Sport in Kigali, Rwanda and later play USM Algiers on July 27 in Algiers.

The fixture shows that the team will host Gor Mahia on August 17 and later play against Rayon on August 28 in the return legs.

Young Africans assistant coach Shadrack Nsajigwa said they need early preparations ahead of the competition.

He said players needed to be prepared psychologically as there was no single team in the group that did not focus on qualifying for the quarter finals.

“What we need is good preparations ahead of the matches. We’re playing against tough teams as well as be prepared for the league because we need to defend the title,” said Msajigwa.

Meanwhile,Young Africans today play Mbeya City at the Sokoine Stadium in the ongoing Mainland Premier League.

The match is expected to be very tough as the two teams need victory in order to improve their standings in the league.

Young Africans are placed second with 47 points after playing 22 matches, while Mbeya City is placed ninth with 26 points after playing 24 matches.