Football: Caf club competitions draw |28 December 2015

St Michel get Kedus Giorgis, LightStars meet Bidvest Vits

St Michel and LightStars know their opponents for the Caf Champions League and Caf Confederations Cup and they will both be in action in mid-February 2016 after earning some tough draws.

The draw for the 2016 Confederation of African Football (Caf) club competitions was made recently in Senegal and the Seychelles representatives have some tough tests ahead of them.

Barclays league division one champions St Michel will be playing in the preliminary round of the Caf Champions League, the African equivalent to Europe’s prestigious UEFA Champions League, and they have been given a tricky draw against Ethiopia’s champions Kedus Giorgis.

The Ethiopians side, like St Michel, are their country’s most successful side, having won the Ethiopian Premier League 27 times and are currently coached by Brazilian Neider dos Santos.

The two sides will meet in Addis Ababa for the first leg during the weekend of February 12-14, while the return leg will take place at Stad Linite during the weekend of February 26-28.

Speaking to a member of the St Michel management, Sports Nation was told that since head coach Ralph Jean-Louis has left the team to concentrate on working with the country’s national side, they will be under the guidance of former coach Brian Uranie until they get a suitable permanent replacement for Jean-Louis.

The spokesperson did however note that they will not be looking for coaches outside of the team as they already have capable coaches in the shape of Roddy Victor and Andrick Savy.

With regards to the draw, he said the match will be tough as they have very little time to prepare for it, but he is confident they can produce a good result, although should they win, they will face a much bigger test.

Should St Michel progress to the first round by defeating Kedus Giorgis, they will face the tournament’s defending champions and five-time winners TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo. These encounters are scheduled for March 11-13 and March 18-20.

Meanwhile, Intelvision Cup winners LightStars will take part in their first ever international tournament next year, when they make their debut in the Caf Confederations Cup.

The Praslin outfit have been handed a very tough draw. They will face South Africa’s Bidvest Vits at Stad Linite during the weekend of February 12-14, before travelling to Johannesburg for the away leg match on February 26-28.

Bidvest Vits have never fared too well in continental competitions. They have only made four appearances and never made it further than the first round.

The winners of this encounter will meet Azam from Tanzania in the first round with the matches scheduled for March 11-13 and March 18-20.

Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel are the current defending champions of the tournament.

S. N.