CAF Competitions: Enyimba exempted from preliminary round as other NPFL clubs know their fate on Thursday
Enyimba have been drawn bye in the CAF Confederation Cup draw.
The two-time African champions will be exempted from the preliminary round of the competition.
Twelve other clubs also received a bye for their record on the continent.
The clubs are USMA Algiers (Algeria), Asec Mimosas (Cote d’Ivoire), Stade Malien (Mali), El Masry and Zamalek (Egypt), Simba (Tanzania), Sekhukhune (South Africa), RS Berkane (Morocco), AS Vita and FC Lupopa (DR Congo).
The other Nigerian club in the competition, El-Kanemi Warriors, will begin the competition in the preliminary round.
Other Nigeria’s representatives in next season’s CAF Champions League will know their preliminary stages opponents on Thursday.
Enugu Rangers and Remo Stars will both seek passage to the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
For the CAF Champions League, a total of 59 clubs will be engaged from 47 African countries, while the CAF Confederation Cup will also have 52 clubs representing 41 countries.
Nigerian champions, Enugu Rangers are in Pot 4 with three others in the lowest ranked teams category.
Enugu Rangers are back on the continent for the first time since 2016 with the hope of advancing to the group stages as they have been busy recruiting players in the last week.
Remo Stars are in Pot 3 along with 15 others in the highest-ranked teams category. Five teams including the defending champions, Al Ahly of Egypt and Esperance Sportive de Tunis, the runners are exempted from the opening round along with Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, TP Mazembe, and Petroleous of Angola.
For Remo Stars, it’s their third consecutive season on the continent but they haven’t played in the group stages before.
Last season, Rivers United were Nigeria’s sole representative on the continent but they only managed to reach the quarter-finals of the Confederation Cup.
Enyimba remains the most successful Nigerian club on the continent with their back-to-back CAF Champions League titles in 2003 and 2004. Fellow Nigerian clubs Remo Stars and Rangers are in pots 3 and 4 of the Champions League draw.
