CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
El Merriekh SC Bentiu to face Somalia’s Heegan SC in 2026/2027 CAF Champions League
South Sudan champions El Merriekh SC Bentiu will face Heegan SC in the first preliminary round of the 2026/2027 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League.
In the draw conducted on Thursday in Cairo, Egypt, the Somalian side will play the first leg away in Juba between September 4-6th. The return fixture is set for September 11-13th at a venue yet to be announced.
The winner between El Merriekh SC Bentiu will move to the second preliminary round to face the winner between Kenya’s Gor Mahia FC and former champions Zamalek FC (Egypt).
The second preliminary round follows a similar pattern with first legs matches to be played October 16-18th, while the return matches take place from the 23 to 25th of the same month.
CAF has confirmed that the eventual Champions League winner will pocket a cash prize of US$6 million, while all teams knocked out during the preliminary rounds take US$100,000.
El Merriekh SC Bentiu will be making it’s second appearance in the CAF Champions League after failing to make it to the group stage in the 2024/2025 edition.
Meanwhile, El Merriekh SC Bentiu defeated Uganda’s Royal Galaxy FC 2-1 in another International friendly match played at the Nsambya YES Center in Kampala, Uganda.
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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