Action in the much-anticipated inaugural edition of the African Football League (AFL) finally kicks off on Friday with key battles in the first leg of the quarterfinals.
A huge clash between the continent’s most successful team, Al Ahly, and 22-time Tanzanian Premier League champions Simba SC will ensue in Dar es Salaam.
The 11-time CAF Champions League winners will make the long trip to East Africa, where they will take on Simba at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
Al Ahly, the reigning African champions, are on a five-game winning streak since losing the CAF Super Cup final to USM Alger, scoring 17 goals and conceding just one. The Reds of Msimbazi are also on a healthy, unbeaten run of their own, with five wins and two draws from seven games.
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— African Football League (@afl_africa) October 14, 2023
On Saturday, 16-time Angolan champion Petro Atletico will host six-time South African champion Mamelodi Sundowns at Luanda’s Estadio 11 de Novembro.
The home side are unbeaten in four games but have only kept one clean sheet in that run and will be facing the Brazilians, who boast 10 wins in their last 13 games and have failed to score just once.
Democratic Republic of Congo champions TP Mazembe and Tunisian heavyweights Esperance Tunisienne will reignite their rivalry in a rematch of the 2019 CAF Champions League semifinals when both sides lock horns at Dar es Salaam’s Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Sunday.
The Baba Boys of Mazembe have won all eight of their matches this season and will be banking on their fantastic defence that has yet to concede a goal this season, while Esperance, who have won five of their last seven games, will be hoping to buttress their goalscoring woes.
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— Enyimba FC (@EnyimbaFC) October 19, 2023
Finally, Nigeria’s representative in the AFL, Enyimba FC, will be in action against 2022 CAF Champions League winners Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco at the Godswill Akpabo Stadium in Uyo, also on Sunday.
The nine-time Nigerian champions and two-time CAF Champions League winners are not in the best of form at the moment, with only one win in their last four games, but they will need to quickly put that behind them if they are to have any chance against the Moroccan powerhouses, who have five wins in their last eight games and are not shy at putting the ball in the back of the net.
The first legs matches of the AFL quarter-finals, which will take place on October 20, 21, and 22, with the return clashes taking place on October 24 and 25, will all be streamed live on FIFA+.
The first leg of the semi-finals of the tournament will take place on October 29, while the second leg will be held on November 1.
The final, which will be decided over two legs, will take place on November 5 and November 11.
