Egypt's Zamalek's campaign to defend its title as champion of the Confederation of African Football (Confederation) Cup will not be a bed of roses, after Monday's draw placed it in a difficult fourth group alongside its Egyptian compatriot, Port Said. The ancient Nigerian Enyimba and the newcomer Black Bulls of Mozambique.
Runner-up RS Berkane is not expected to face any difficulty in the second group, which includes Stade Mali of Mali, Stellenbosch of South Africa, and Luanda Sul of Angola. The Malian team will compete with the Moroccan team aspiring to the third title in its history, this time under the leadership of Tunisian coach Moin Chaabani.
Things will be complicated in the first group for the two Arab teams, Sfaxien of Tunisia, the most successful club (3 times), and CS Constantine of Algeria, as they will face Simba of Tanzania, which is considered among the strongest teams in the competition, in addition to Braavos of Angola, which is relatively unknown.
Sfaxien is led by Brazilian coach Alexander dos Santos, who comes from Angola's Pietro de Luanda, as he seeks to return the team to the path to championships, but the team will face strong confrontations, especially against Simba, who are strong favorites to advance to the quarter-finals, and Constantine, who is looking forward to causing a surprise.
USM Algeria, which withdrew from the semi-finals last season against RS Berkane to lose the title it won in 2023, will be forced to travel with arduous missions after the draw placed it in the third group with ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast, Graf of Senegal, and Oraba United of Botswana.
The result of the draw for the group stage of the African Confederation Cup (Confederation):
- First group: Simba (Tanzania), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), CS Constantine (Algeria), Bravosh (Angola).
- Second group: RS Berkane (Morocco), Stade Mali (Mali), Stellenbosch (South Africa), Luanda Sul (Angola).
- Third group: USM (Algeria), ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast), Graf (Senegal), Oraba United (Botswana).
- Fourth group: Zamalek (Egypt), Al-Masry Port Said (Egypt), Enyimba (Nigeria), Black Bulls (Mozambique).
The group stage matches will start on November 28 and continue until January 19, 2025, while the final will be held on May 25, 2025.