African Football League: Enyimba get Wydad Casablanca test in quarterfinal duel

By Wale Mustapha

Enyimba FC have been drawn against Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca in the quarterfinal of the inaugural African Football League, AFL.

It will be a new adventure for the Nigeria’s most successful club in the African club football competition, who made history 20 years as first Nigerian club to win the CAF Champions League.

The pairing between the two power horses in African club football is one of the four fixtures conducted on Saturday in Cairo, Egypt.

The other three pairings that will be played on home and away format will see South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns taking on Petro de Luanda of Angola, Tanzania’s Simba Sports Club will face Egypt’s Al Ahly while TP Mazembe of Congo will face Tunisia’s Esperance.

The competition starts with knock-out quarter finals and will be followed by the semi-finals and the final – all of which are played over two legs.

The inaugural AFL which will last for four weeks will kickoff on October 20 in Dar es Salam, Tanzania.

The semi-finals will take place between 29 October and 1 November. The final matches which will determine the winner of the Inaugural AFL competition will take place on 5 and 11 November 2023.

The Inaugural AFL is a precursor to the fully-fledged AFL competition which will feature the 24 highest ranked football clubs on the African Continent and will commence during the 2024/2025 football season.

The People’s Elephants will be aiming to upset all odds against the Moroccan giants to reach the last four.