South African biggest teams are in difficult draw in the CAF champions league they separated them from each other.
Kaizer Chiefs have been drawn against Zambia side Zesco in the play-off round for the Confederation Cup in what will be a tough encounter that sees them host the second leg .
Zesco play at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola and have won the Zambian championship for the last two years‚ also making the semifinals of the Champions League in 2016 when Sundowns ousted them on the way to the title.
Orlando Pirates have drawn holders Esperance and Mamelodi Sundowns have also been handed a tough task after the draw was made for the African Champions League pool stages in Cairo on Friday.
oooh @SimbaSCTanzania two arabs!!
— Jay Gerald (@JayQGerald) December 28, 2018
The first legs will be played on the January 11-13 and the return legs will be staged the following week‚ with the winners of these toes advancing to the pool stages along with already qualified Etoile du Sahel from Tunisia.
It is an altogether different story for Sundowns though after they drew their nemesis and winners from 2017‚ Wydad Casablanca of Morocco‚ Ivorian side Asec Mimosas and Nigerian champions Lobi Stars.
Champions League draw 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
— A7med_3lian_shosha_Isc💛🇺🇦💙 (@AhmedAlain22) December 28, 2018
Easy group for pirates even though Esperance are defending champions but we're not afraid of them the last time we were against them in semifinal we knocked them out so we're ready to collect our 2nd star
— Sokhela_scarDabadboy🇿🇦 (@SScardabadboy) December 28, 2018
— Mehdi Tebourbi (@TremendousNet) December 28, 2018
That will be two tough trips to west Africa and one to the north‚ though at least their fixture against Wydad will see them in familiar territory.
Group C contains 2015 winners TP Mazembe (DR Congo)‚ Club Africain (Tunisia)‚ CS Constantine (Algeria) and Ismaily (Egypt)‚ while Group D features Al Ahly (Egypt)‚ Simba SC (Tanzania)‚ JS Saoura (Algeria) and AS Vita Club (DR Congo).
I hear others predicting who will be in the finals but remember the refs play a big part in #ChampionsLeague
— Clarence Matladi (@clegga6) December 28, 2018
Only the top two teams in each pool advance to the quarterfinals‚ with the first set of matches to be played on January 11-13 and the pools to be completed on march 15-17.
CAF Champions League draw:
Group A
Lobi Stars (Nigeria)
Wydad Casablanca (Morocco)
Asec Mimosas (Ivory Coast)
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)
Group B
FC Platinum (Zimbabwe)
Horoya AC (Guinea)
Esperance (Tunisia)
Orlando Pirates (South Africa)
Group C
TP Mazembe (DR Congo)
Club Africain (Tunisia)
CS Constantine (Algeria)
Ismaily (Egypt)
Group D
Al Ahly (Egypt)
Simba SC (Tanzania)
JS Saoura (Algeria)
AS Vita Club (DR Congo)
Caf Confederation Cup play-off draw:
Gor Mahia (Kenya) vs New Stars of Douala (Cameroon)
Al Ahli Benghazi (Libya) vs NA Hussein Dey (Algeria)
Al Hilal (Sudan) vs Mukura Victory Sports (Rwanda)
Nkana FC (Zambia) vs FC San Pedro (Ivory Coast)
Coton Sport (Cameroon) vs Asante Kotoko (Ghana)
Zesco United (Zambia) vs Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa)
Stade Malien (Mali) vs Petro Atletico (Angola)
Raja Casablanca (Morocco) vs African Stars (Namibia)
RS Berkane (Morocco) vs ASC Diaraf (Senegal)
CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) vs Vipers FC (Uganda)
Zamalek (Egypt) vs IR Tanger (Morocco)
KCCA (Uganda) vs AS Otoho D’Oyo (Congo)
Bantu FC (Lesotho) vs Enugu Rangers (Nigeria)
Al Nasr (Libya) vs Salitas FC (Burkina Faso)
Jimaa Aba Jifar (Ethiopia) vs Hassania Agadir (Morocco)
*Etoile du Sahel qualify automatically for the group stages.
CAF champions league draw video:
https://youtu.be/R8L7jjLqV2Y