TOUGH CAF DRAW FOR G.MAMBA, ‘BUFFS’

MBABANE – Zambia’s football heavyweights Zesco United stand in the way of Green Mamba in the first hurdle of the 2019/20 CAF Champions League.

Caleb Ngwenya’s men return to Africa’s premier club competition for the first time in seven years after winning the Holy Grail of Eswatini football in May this year. According to pairings released by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Sunday night, Green Mamba will start their journey at home against the 2016 semi-finalists in a two-legged preliminary round encounter from the weekend of August 9-11.  The tournament starts earlier than usual following the revision of the CAF calendar. The return match will be played between August 23 and August 25 at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola, Zambia.

The winner on aggregate will face either Young Africans of Tanzania or Township Rollers from Botswana from the second week of September. A team that will survive the second round test will get a ticket to the group stages.  Green Mamba’s opponents need no introduction, as they feature regularly in CAF tournaments. On top of parading former Mbabane Swallows striker, Aladenkun Kola, they are one of the powerhouses in the Southern Africa region. In May 2019, they were ranked 12th in Africa. During the last visit to Eswatini, a Lazarus Kambole-inspired Zesco beat Swallows by 3-0 in the group stages of the same tournament last year. Green Mamba last appeared in the CAF Champions League in 2012 and lost 2-8 on aggregate to Zimbabwe’s FC Platinum.

Coach Ngwenya conceded the Zesco test would not be easy, but said they would give it their best shot. “It’s a very tough draw. “We’re pushing ourselves, as it is still preseason, but we’re getting there in terms of physical fitness,” said the reigning coach of the season. Meanwhile, Young Buffaloes, who have qualified for Africa’s football second-tier club tournament styled CAF Confederation Cup for a third time in a row, also face Zambian opposition in the preliminary round. They will play Ndola-based debutants styled Buildcon FC. Interestingly, even last year, Buffaloes faced a team (Green Eagles) from Zambia in the first stage. The latter won 5-2 on aggregate.

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