African Football Confederation (Caf) continental tournaments |11 February 2017

Local sides in action this weekend

The two local sides competing in the African Football Confederation (Caf) continental tournaments will be in action this weekend.

Cup winners St Michel, who are competing in the Caf Confederations’ Cup – which is the equivalent of Europe’s Europa League – were to face Sudanese side Al Hilal  last night.

On the other hand, league champions Côte d’Or will be in action against Ethiopian side St Georges in the first leg of their Caf Champions League preliminary round this afternoon at 4pm at Stad Amitié, Praslin.

The local side will be looking to take a positive result today, before travelling to Ethiopia for the return leg next Saturday.

Unlike Côte d’Or, St Georges have managed to get past the first round three times in the nine appearances and will prove tough opposition for the Praslin side, in a match that will also see Ralph Jean-Louis make his debut as head coach.

The winner of the tournament earns a berth for the Fifa Club World Cup, a tournament contested between the champion clubs from all six continental confederations, and also faces the winner of the CAF Confederation Cup in the following season's Caf Super Cup.

Egypt's Al Ahly is the most successful club in the competition's history, having won the tournament eight times. Egyptian clubs have accumulated the highest number of victories, winning the title 14 times. The reigning champions are Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, who secured their first win in the competition after defeating Zamalek SC in the 2016 final.

As for St Michel, they would be hoping their young players such as Nel Confiance could step up to fill the void left by the departure of Gervais Waye-Hive.

It has also been confirmed that it was Roddy Victor who was on the bench for St Michel last night, despite rumours that former Côte d’Or head coach Ahmed Adbou will soon be named the new St Michel coach.

A positive result for St Michel will surely boost their chances when they meet the Sudanese cup winners at Stad Linite next Saturday for their home leg.

The competition was founded by the Caf in 2004 by merging both the African Cup Winners' Cup and the Caf Cup in a single competition.

CS Sfaxien of Tunisia are the record winners of the tournament, winning it three times – in 2007, 2008 and 2013, while another Tunisian side, Etoile du Sahel have won it twice.

The current holders of the competition are DR Congo’s TP Mazembe, who defeated Algeria’s MO Béjaïa on away goals in last year’s two-legged final.

S.N