Simba, Yanga handed tough draw at CAFCL quarters
What you need to know:
- As Yanga will take on Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in their first leg at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Simba will host the competition’s defending champions, Al Ahly.
Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s envoys in the CAF Champions League, Young Africans (Yanga) and Simba SC, will face tough opponents in the quarter-finals of the competition.
As Yanga will take on Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in their first leg at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Simba will host the competition’s defending champions, Al Ahly.
Their first legs have been scheduled for March 29 and 30 before playing their return legs at away venues on April 5 and 6.
Yanga will be facing Mamelodi Sundowns for the second time in the competition. In 2001, Yanga were eliminated by Mamelodi Sundowns on 6-5 goal aggregates, whereby in the first leg, Mamelodi Sundowns won 3-2 and in the second leg held at the CCM Kirumba Stadium, the two teams ended in a 3-3 draw.
Other matches, according to the CAF Champions League draw, will see TP Mazembe facing Petro Atletico while Esperance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia facing Asec Mimosas of Ivory Coast.
Basically, Yanga will be facing an uphill task against South African giants in the encounter.
Records show that the South African giants are now in the perfect record after winning the inaugural African Football League (AFL) title.
Also, the records show that Mamelodi Sundowns have managed to win the South African Premier League title 16 times since 1988 and dominated the league by winning the title back-to-back since 2017/18.
They won the title in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, and 2022/23, and are currently at the top of the league standings with 42 points from 16 matches.
The South African giants also boast securing one silverware in the CAF Champions League after emerging victorious in 2016.
Additionally, they earned a silver medal in the 2001 edition of the prestigious tournament. They also won a gold medal in the CAF Super Cup after winning the title in 2017.
Simba vs Al Ahly
The two teams have faced each other several times in the CAF Champions League and recently in the African Football League (AFL).
Records show that in the five matches since 2019, Simba won two, and Al Ahly also two with one draw.
In the AFL, Al Ahly secured a 2-2 draw at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam on October 21, 2023. Their return leg ended in another draw with a scoreline of 1-1 on October 26, 2023.
Basically, Al Ahly are the competition’s defending champion as the records also show that the Egyptian giants managed to win 11 titles in the CAF Champions League. They are number one in the CAF Club rankings with 78 points.
