Pirates draw club from Mauritius in Champions League

Holders Mamelodi Sundowns have to play a single tie to qualify for a 12th successive season to the group phase of the African Champions League after being exempt from first-round action, but Orlando Pirates will have to take on opposition from Mauritius next month.

Sundowns, along with last season’s semifinalists Renaissance Berkane of Morocco and Tunisia’s Espérance, were handed byes from the first round and wait to see who their second-round opponents will be.

Thursday’s draw in Cairo saw Sundowns, who won the Champions League in May with two-legged success over Royal Armed Forces of Morocco, paired against the winner of the first-round tie between Wiliete of Angola and Foresters from Seychelles for a place in the group phase.

Sundowns will be at home in the second leg of the second-round tie at the end of October, likely against the side from Benguela, who will be heavily fancied to overcome the Indian Ocean islanders.

Pirates, however, must get through two knockout rounds if they are to qualify for the group phase after last season crashing out to St Eloi Lupopo of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Buccaneers, who were African champions in 1993, begin their bid away at La Cure Waves of Mauritius early next month.

Buccaneers Draw Mauritian Champions in Champions League

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Should Pirates proceed, as is expected, they then come up against either Mangasport of Gabon or Namibia’s African Stars.

A total of 61 clubs entered this season’s Champions League, which has a first prize of US$6 million.

The dates for the preliminary knockout round ties are the same as for the African Confederation Cup, with first-round, first-leg matches being played on the weekend of September 4-6, followed by the return legs on September 11-13.

The second round is scheduled for October 16-18, with the return fixtures taking place between October 23-25.

The 16 winners from the second-round ties advance to the group phase of the competition, which will begin at the end of November.

FIRST PRELIMINARY ROUND

Wiliete (Angola) vs Foresters FC (Seychelles)
Scottland FC (Zimbabwe) vs Nsingizini Hotspurs (Eswatini)
UD do Songo (Mozambique) vs Atlético Petróleos (Angola)
AS Mangasport (Gabon) vs African Stars (Namibia)
La Cure Waves (Mauritius) vs Orlando Pirates FC (South Africa)
15 de Agosto (Equatorial Guinea) vs Fomboni FC (Comoros)
Mighty Wanderers (Malawi) vs Simba SC (Tanzania)
CFFA (Madagascar) vs Lijabatho FC (Lesotho)
Gaborone United FC (Botswana) vs Young Africans SC (Tanzania)
Swehly SC (Libya) vs KVZ FC (Zanzibar)
Aigles du Congo (DR Congo) vs APR FC (Rwanda)
AS Port (Djibouti) vs Zamalek SC (Egypt)
El Merriekh Bentiu (South Sudan) vs Heegan SC (Somalia)
Gor Mahia FC (Kenya) vs Pyramids FC (Egypt)
Aiglons FC (Chad) vs Sidaama Buna (Ethiopia)
Aigle Noir CS (Burundi) vs Al Hilal SC (Sudan)
Star Sport Academy (Sierra Leone) vs Medina United FC (The Gambia)
MAS de Fès (Morocco) vs Rahimo FC (Burkina Faso)
ASCK (Togo) vs ASEC Mimosas (Côte d’Ivoire)
FC Canchungo (Guinea-Bissau) vs Teungueth FC (Senegal)
Colombe Sportive (Cameroon) vs Stade Malien (Mali)
Rangers International FC (Nigeria) vs SOBEMAP FC (Benin)
ASN Nigelec (Niger) vs MC Alger (Algeria)
FC San Pedro (Côte d’Ivoire) vs Rivers United (Nigeria)
Vipers SC (Uganda) vs FC Nouadhibou (Mauritania)
JS Saoura (Algeria) vs Horoya AC (Guinea)
Al Merriekh SC (Sudan) vs Power Dynamos (Zambia)
Medeama SC (Ghana) vs TP Mazembe (DR Congo)