Geita Gold FC play their first card today in CAF tie

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s envoys in the CAF Confederation Cup, Geita Gold FC, today meet Al Hilal of Sudan in their historic featuring in the competition.

This is the first game of Geita Gold FC in the competition. The encounter has been scheduled to kick-off at 8pm Tanzanian time.

Geita Gold FC head coach Fred Felix Minziro said they are expecting a tough opposition from Al Hilal because they are playing at an away venue.

However, Minziro said they have prepared well for the match to be played in Khartoum, Sudan. He said they will play with determination against one of the teams with good history in the continental club championships.

“We have trained well ahead of the encounter. We have a game plan that will surely help us to win away.

“It is expected to be a tough match as we are going to play against the experienced team in the competition.

“We are featuring in the competition for the first time in our history, but many of our players are experienced in international competitions and are ready to show their level of commitment as we are targeting to make new history in the tournament,” said Minziro.

The teams will meet again on September 17 at the Azam Complex in Dar es Salaam and if Geita Gold FC sail through, they will take on Pyramids FC of Egypt.

For his part, Geita Gold FC Chief Executive Officer Simon Shija said they have recruited the best players who, they believe, will take the club to the next level of the competition, despite the fact that they are going to compete for the first time in their history.

According to Shija, their technical bench under head coach Minziro has set strategic technical plans that will make the team romp into preliminary rounds and later into playoffs against teams that will be eliminated from the Champions League.

Apart from Geita Gold FC, another Mainland Tanzania team in the competition is Azam FC who have been awarded a bye into the first round of the competition.

The ice-cream makers will now face the winners between Al-Akhdar of Libya and Al Hilal Khartoum of Sudan.

Meanwhile, Zanzibar’s envoys in the CAF Confederation Cup, Kipanga FC, today face Al Hilal of South Sudan at the Azam Complex at 4pm.

According to CAF, the return legs are scheduled to be held between September 16 and 18.

The CAF schedule shows that the first legs of the second round will be played between October 7 and 9 and the second legs are set between October 14 and 16.

Playoffs, which feature teams eliminated from the CAF Champions League against CAF Confederation Cup teams that qualified for the second round, will be played between November 2 and 9.