Al Ahly of Egypt have been drawn in group B of the 2014 Orange CAF Confederation Cup where they will battle with Ivorian side Sewe Sport , Etoile du Sahel from Tunisia and Zambia’s Nkana FC in their bid to win the only African club competition they haven’t won in their illustrious history.
Cameroon club side Coton Sport will play in group A along with Ivorian side ASEC Mimosas , Malian side, AS Real and AC Leopards of Congo Brazzaville.
Al Ahly record eight times Champions League winners have never won the second tier African club competition and will need to emerge top or runners up from group B. Perhaps their toughest test will come from fellow Tunisia side Etoile du Sahel whom they have meet twice in champions league finals, (2005 and 2007). The count is one apiece with the Egyptian side winning their 4th title in 2005 but Etoile turned the tables on Ahly with a win two years later, so two matches between the sides will probably set the tone in the group.
Sewe San Pedro will add the West Africa flavour to the group while Nkana FC will be the sole Southern African representative. Nkana’s last trip to Cairo was not a happy one after a thrashing at the hands of Ahly’s rivals Zamalek but the side from Zambia’s Copperbelt will head to Tunisia buoyed up by the 1-1 draw against C.A Bizerte that secured their qualification to the mini phase.
Only AC Leopards ( winners in 2012) prevented an All- West African affair in group A where Coton Sport semi-finalist in 2013 Champions league will battle AS Real Bamako of Mali and ASEC Mimosas from Ivory Coast. The final two to emerge from this group will be tough to call as all four sides have more similarities than differences in style of play.
Match days: May 16-18 and 23-25, June 6-8, July 25-27, Aug 8-10 and 22-24 with the Group winners and runners-up qualifying for semi-finals.
Orange CAF Confederation Cup draw:
Group A: AC Leopards, ASEC Mimosas, AS Real Bamako, Coton Sport
Group B: Al Ahly, Etoile du Sahel, Sewe San Pedro, Nkana FC
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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