Simba exempted from CAF Champions league preliminary rounds
Simba players doing exercises in their camp in Morocco.
Dar es Salaam. Football giants in the country, Simba and Yanga, are facing tricky African Champions League fixtures scheduled to start next month.
According to the fixtures released yesterday in Cairo, Egypt, Simba will start in the second preliminary round against the winner between Jwaneng Galaxy of Botswana and DFC Beme Arronoissement of the Central African Republic.
The Msimbazi Street giants are among 10 teams that will not feature in the first preliminary rounds.
However Simba's Board Chairman and the club’s majority shareholder, Mohammed Dewji ‘MO’ through his social media Twiter account expressed his delight after the club was exempted from CAFCL Preliminary round for the 2021-22 season.
“What does this mean, Simba has become one of the top 10 clubs in Africa,” he wrote.
The other teams are defending champions Al Ahly of Egypt, Mamelodi Sundown of South Africa, TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Zamalek (Egypt), Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia), Wydad Casablanca, Raja Casablanca (Morocco) and Horoya AC of Guinea.
Yanga will play against Rivers United of Nigeria in the preliminary round and if they win the match, they will face Fasil Kenema and Al Hilal of Sudan.
In the CAF Confederation Cup, Azam FC will take on Somalia’s Horseed FC and the winner will play against the last edition’s finalists Pyramids FC of Egypt in the second preliminary round.
Another Tanzania Mainland side, Biashara Mara United, will play away against FC Dikhil of Djibouti and if they eliminate the team, they will face the winner between Hay Al-Wadi of Sudan and Ahli Tripol of Libya.
Yanga new recruited players Djuma Shaaban (left) and Jesus Moloko
Meanwhile, the 2021-2022 African club competitions, whose qualifying draws were held yesterday in Cairo will retain the away-goals system despite Europe scrapping the rule. European football body UEFA abandoned the rule for its three club competitions this season, saying statistics proved that the original motive of encouraging away teams to attack was no longer relevant. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said the away-goal rule actually discourages home teams from attacking, especially in first legs.
Some African football followers believed the change was introduced by world governing body FIFA and applied to all continents.
However, a senior CAF official told AFP that “this announcement was made by UEFA and, therefore, applies (only) in their competitions”. Africa and Europe also differ when clubs are level on goal aggregate -- and away goals in the case of CAF competitions -- after the home and away matches in a knockout fixture.
In Europe, an additional 30 minutes are played at the ground of the side hosting the return match and, if the teams are still tied on aggregate, a penalty shootout decides the winners. But African officials believe it is unfair to give one team an additional 30 minutes of playing at home and ties go straight to a shootout.
Title-holders Al Ahly of Egypt are among 54 clubs who have entered the CAF Champions League, the most prestigious African club competition with a $2.5 million (2.13 mn euros) first prize, this season.
Additional report by Bethsheba Wambura
