CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
El Merriekh Bentiu ready to battle Gor Mahia in Nairobi
South Sudan champions El Merriekh Bentiu SC will face Gor Mahia FC in the second leg of the 1st preliminary round of the 2024/2025 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League on Sunday afternoon.
The Kenyan side will host the match at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.
El Merriekh Bentiu carry the advantage after the 1-0 win in the first leg played at the newly renovated Juba Stadium last weekend.
Ramsey Sebit Lumori, the head coach has made that clear that they know what to expect in Nairobi and will not underrate Gor Mahia. “We are playing away from home and must be very cautious. Ofcourse we shall change our game plan because we are away, but we must take our chances in-front of goal,” added the El Merriekh coach.
But Gor Mahia’s Brazilian coach Leonardo Martins Neiva has also made it clear that since El Merriekh Bentiu is a very tricky side, they must be at their best with home fans supporting.
The winning team over two legs will qualify to face African giants Al Ahly from Egypt in the 2nd preliminary round with the first leg to be played between September 13-15th, 2024.
The Kenyan champions tried to fight back to find goals, but failed to beat the El Merriekh defending line. and level the score, but failed to beat the
Five other teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) that have qualified for the 2nd preliminary round include; Young Africans SC (Tanzania), El Merriekh (Sudan), APR FC (Rwanda), Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (Ethiopia) and Somalia’s Dekedaha SC.
Egyptian Premier League side Pyramids FC have qualified to face El Merriekh SC Bentiu in the second preliminary round of the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
Pyramids FC brushed a side Kenya’s Gor Mahia 5-1 in the return leg played in Cairo on Sunday to sail through 7-1 on goal aggregate.
El Merriekh SC Bentiu advanced to the next stage on Saturday when they saw off Heegan FC (Somalia) 4-0 on goal aggregate.
The battle field is now set and El Merriekh SC Bentiu will host Pyramids FC in the first leg of the second preliminary round between October 16-18th in Juba, while the second leg will take place October 23–25.
Jean Claude Loboko, the El Merriekh SC Bentiu coach has made it clear that they will prepare well ahead of the match against Pyramids. “We are happy to qualify for the next stage, and we shall prepare well enough to face Pyramids,” added the coach.
The other teams from the Council of East and Central Africa Football Associations (CECAFA) that qualified for the second preliminary round include; Young Africans SC, Simba SC (Tanzania), APR FC (Rwanda), El Merrikh, Al Hilal SC (Sudan), and Sidama Bunna (Ethiopia).
CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
El Merriekh SC Bentiu see off Heegan to qualify for next stage of 2026/2027 CAF Champions League
El Merriekh SC Bentiu have advanced to the second preliminary round of the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
The South Sudan Premier League reigning champions defeated Heegan FC (Somalia) 3-0 in the second leg of the first premlinary round match played on Saturday at the Juba National Stadium.
Tot Maet Doh gave El Merriekh SC Bentiu the lead after nodding in a well taken Keer Mangar cross.
After recess Mangar and Kekeli Attor also got their names on the score sheet to ensure El Merriekh SC Bentiu qualified for the next round on a 4-0 goal aggregate.
Head coach Jean Claude Loboko praised his team for the good display after the match. “We were very disciplined attacked well and defended as a team,” said Loboko.
El Merreikh SC Bentiu will now wait to face the winner between Kenya’s Gor Mahia FC and former champions Pyramids FC (Egypt).
The head coach of El Merriekh SC Bentiu has called on all fans to come in big numbers to support the team when they face Heegan FC in the second leg of the CAF Champions League.
After winning the first leg 1-0, the South Sudan Premier League champions will be all out to finish the job in the second leg on Saturday at the Juba National Stadium.
“ Come cheer, motivate the team to get a big win,” said coach Jean Claude Loboko.
He made it clear that the support of the fans will play an important role to see the team get positive results. “We have trained hard and we are ready to put up a good display to get a good result,” added the coach.
In-case El Merriekh SC Bentiu make it past this stage, they will face winner between Kenya’s Gor Mahia FC and former champions Pyramids FC (Egypt) in the second preliminary round.
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