African Champions League (2008)

[Al-khiyal]

ASNIM (Mauritanie) - ES Sétif :
L'Aigle noir à la conquête de l'Afrique

[Al-khiyal]

2008 Champions League kicks off

February 15, 2008 -- The 2008 African Champions League gets underway on Friday with ASC SNIM of Mauritania hosting Algeria's Entente Setif in Nouakchott.

Entente Setif, champions in 1988, will be without four injured regular players.

There are doubts over the game between APR of Rwanda and Egyptian side Zamalek.

Clubs from Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Chad, Kenya and Central African Republic were all thrown out of the Champions League and Confederation Cup by the Confederation of African Football on Sunday.

However, Zamalek did travel to Rwanda for the match.

Ghana's Hearts of Oak, winners of the Champions League in 2000, play in Gabon against FC105 Libreville.

FC105 were hit by the death of midfielder Guy Tchingoma last Saturday after he collapsed following a domestic league game.

Nigeria's Enyimba host Congo's Diables Noirs in Aba on Sunday while Morocco's Royal Armed Forces will play at home on Saturday against Sporting Praia of the Cape Verde Islands.

Defending champions Etoile Sahel of Tunisia have a bye into the second round.

They will play the winner of the tie between Senegal's AS Douanes and the Burkina Faso champions CF Ouagadougou.

Other former champions in action are Club Africain of Tunisia (1991), (1988), Enyimba of Nigeria (2003 and 2004) and FAR Rabat of Morocco.

FAR, a major disappointment after reaching the group phase last year, host Sporting Praia of the Cape Verde Islands.

Enyimba are at home to Diables Noir of Congo.

Club Africain, back after a 11-year absence, travel to newcomers Saloum of Senegal.

Mamelodi Sundowns, the last South African club to make an impression by finishing runners-up to Al-Ahly of Egypt in 2001, play Miembeni on the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar.

The second South African challengers, debutants Platinum Stars, entertain Correction Services of Lesotho.

Swaziland police outfit Royal Leopards host 1998 runners-up Dynamos of Zimbabwe in another regional showdown.

2008 Champions League draw

First round:

ASC SNIM (Mauritania) v Entente Setif (Algeria)

Sporting Bissau (Guinea Bissau) v Olympique Khouribga (Morocco)

Invincible XI (Liberia) v AS Kaloum (Guinea)

Renacimiento (Equatorial Guinea) v InterClube (Angola)

Royal Armed Forces (Morocco) v Sporting Praia (Cape Verde)

Tonnerre FC (Benin) v Africa Sports (Ivory Coast)

APR FC (Rwanda) v Zamalek (Egypt) - bye to Zamalek due to Caf ban on clubs from Rwanda

AS Douanes (Senegal) v CF Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

Costa do Sol (Mozambique) v Ajesaia (Madagascar)

Royal Leopards (Swaziland) v Dynamos (Zimbabwe)

Sahel SC (Niger) v Ashanti Gold (Ghana)

Daring Club Motema Pembe (DR Congo) v Gombe United (Nigeria)

Vital'O (Burundi) v Coton Sport (Cameroon)

FC105 Libreville (Gabon) v Hearts of Oak (Ghana)

Renaissance (Chad) v TP Mazembe Englebert (DR Congo) - bye to TP Mazembe due to Caf ban on clubs from Chad

Stade Malien (Mali) v Primeiro Agosto (Angola)

ASC Saloum (Senegal) v Club Africain (Tunisia)

ASKO Kara (Togo) v Union Douala (Cameroon)

Simba SC (Tanzania) v Awassa City (Ethiopia)

Enyimba (Nigeria) v Diables Noirs (Congo)

Tusker FC (Kenya) v Al Tahrir (Eritrea) - bye to Al Tahrir due to Caf ban on clubs from Kenya

US Tamponnaise (Reunion) v St Michel United (Seychelles)

Platinum Stars (South Africa) v Lesotho Correction Services (Lesotho)

Curepipe Starlight (Mauritius) v Coin Nord Mitsamiouli (Comoros Islands)

Miembeni SC (Zanzibar) v Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)

Uganda Revenue Authority (Uganda) v ZESCO United (Zambia)

Teams mentioned first play at home in the first leg on the weekend of February 15-17.
Return legs played on the weekend of February 29, March 1-2.

Second round:

Sporting Bissau or Olympique Khouribga v ASC SNIM or Entente Setif

ASEC Abidjan (Ivory Coast) v Invincible XI or AS Kaloum

Royal Armed Forces or Sporting Praia v Renacimiento or InterClube

Zamalek v Tonnerre FC or Africa Sports

Etoile du Sahel (Tunisia) v AS Douanes or CF Ouagadougou

Royal Leopards or Dynamos v Costa do Sol or Ajesaia

JS Kabylie (Algeria) v Sahel SC or Ashanti Gold

Vital'O or Coton Sport v Daring Club Motema Pembe or Gombe United

TP Mazembe Englebert v FC105 Libreville or Hearts of Oak

Al Ittihad (Libya) v Stade Malien or Primeiro Agosto

ASKO Kara or Union Douala v ASC Saloum or Club Africain

Enyimba or Diables Noirs v Simba SC or Awassa City

Al Ahly (Egypt) v Al Tahrir

Platinum Stars or Lesotho Correction Services v US Tamponnaise or St Michel United

Miembeni SC or Mamelodi Sundowns v Curepipe Starlight or Coin Nord Mitsamiouli

Al Hilal (Sudan) v Uganda Revenue Authority or ZESCO United

Teams mentioned first play at home in the first leg on the weekend of March 21-23.
The return legs will be played on the weekend of April 4-6.

Winners advance to the third round in April and May.

[Bent_Bladi]

SOOOOOO exciting... these are my second favorite games to watch

[Al-khiyal]

ASC SNIM (Mauritania) 1 - ES Sétif 5

[Al-khiyal]

February 16, 2008.....Entente Setif of Algeria opened their Champions League campaign with a 5-1 away thrashing of ASC SNIM in Mauritania on Friday.

The visitors raced into an early lead with Farid Touil and Lamouri Ben Kadda Djediat giving the Algerians a 2-0 advantage just past the quarter-hour mark at Nouakchott.

The home side rallied and pulled one back on 21 minutes when striker Dina Taqillah made no mistake from the spot.

Entente Setif, who won last year's Arab Champions League, stamped their authority on the game after the break with excellent passing which showed rhythm and fluidity.

This resulted in three late goals from Serey Die, Abdelmalek Ziaya and Ivorian Remi Adiko to seal the convincing victory for the Algerians.....

[Al-khiyal]

ASNIM 1 - ES Sétif 5 :
L'Aigle noir torpille les Mauritaniens

[Al-khiyal]

Algeria's ES Setif defeats Mauritania's ASC SNIM in Champions League prelim

February 17, 2008 -- On the first day of the African Champions League preliminary round on Friday (February 15th), Algeria's ES Setif defeated Mauritania's ASC SNIM 5-1 in Nouakchott. The return leg will be played on February 29th in Sétif. The winner will meet either Guinea Bissau's SC Bissau or Morocco's OC Khourigba in the second round.