Gamondi aims to put Yanga at the top of CAF Champions League

Dar es Salaam. Mainland champions Young Africans (Yanga)’s head coach, Miguel Gamondi, has said that the primary goal is to qualify for the group stage of the CAF Champions League.

Gamondi made the comment after learning about their opponents for the first and second preliminary matches of the CAF Champions League.

Yanga will play Vital’O of Burundi in the first preliminary match, and if they win, they will face the winner between SC Villa of Uganda and Commercial Bank of Ethiopia.

The fixtures indicate that the first legs of the CAF Champions League are scheduled to be held between August 16 and 18, while the return legs are set for between August 23 and 25.

The second preliminary round matches are scheduled to be held from September 13 to 15, with the return legs a week later. The group stage will start in October and run until February next year.

“No matter which team we play against, our first task is to qualify for the group stage of the tournament. We are now in the knockout stage, and we must qualify for the group stage.

We need to win all our games and reach the stage, just like we did in the last edition of the CAF Champions League.

We cannot think of anything else; whether we play at home or away, we need to qualify for the group stage.

One of the reasons I joined Yanga last season and this season is to compete in the Champions League and showcase the best of Yanga and Tanzania in the CAF Champions League.

This is a challenge, and we need to fight together to put Yanga at the top of African football,” Gamondi insisted.

He added that he cannot recall playing against a club from Burundi, except for playing against the national team when he was with Burkina Faso.

“I don’t know how the team plays, but what I expect is to see many Yanga fans attend the match, just like they did against El Merreikh when we played in Kigali, Rwanda, last season.

Despite playing away, it felt like home due to the number of fans who attended the match. I expect the same to happen this season,” he said.