The men have been separated from the boys with the identities of the teams for the group phase of the 2014 Orange CAF Champions League revealed.
Whilst holders Al-Ahly of Egypt will have to wait for another time to realize their hat-trick of titles in the premier continental club championship, North Africa remains heavily represented with five of the octet coming from the Maghreb region.
The qualified teams are Ahli Benghazi (Libya), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), Esperance (Tunisia), Entente Setif (Algeria), Hilal (Sudan), AS Vita Club (DR Congo), TP Mazembe (DR Congo) and Zamalek (Egypt).
Sudanese giants, Hilal and Congolese duo, Vita Club and Mazembe are the only clubs outside the Maghreb zone as the race for the $1.5M prize money gathers momentum. There are no teams from West Africa and Central Africa.
But for Ahli Benghazi, ousters of eight-time winners, Ahly, Sfaxien and Hilal, all the teams have at least once laid claim to the most prestigious title in the African Club Championships.
Between the other five teams is a staggering 13 titles with Zamalek, the most successful, on five titles. Mazembe have been crowned winners on four occasions, Esperance twice whilst Entente Setif and Vita Club have one title each.
Also, only Esperance and Zamalek reached the same stage last year, with the former advancing to the semis where they were bundled out after losing finalists, Orlando Pirates of South Africa.
For surprise packets, Ahli Benghazi and Vita Club, this represents the farthest they have reached since the introduction of the new format in 1997.
Ahli are the first Libyan club to reach the group phase since 2007 after rivals Ittihad Tripoli, who went on to lose at the semis to Ahly of Egypt. The last time a Libyan side reached the mini-league stage of a major continental club championship was in 2010, a record again held by Ittihad in the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup, were they reached the semis yet again.
The draw for the group stage will be conducted on Tuesday, 29 April 2014 at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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