The current season of the CAF (Confederation of African Football) Cup is marked by a unique occurrence wherein three clubs from Sudan find themselves grouped together. Al Ahli Shandi, Al Hilal, and Al Merreikh are poised to engage in what can be likened to a mini-Sudan championship, with the fourth club in this group being InterClube d’Angola.
El Ahli Shandi, relatively new to the continental scene, is set to host one of Sudan’s formidable teams, Al Hilal. Al Hilal, a seasoned participant in major continental events, harbors aspirations of clinching a trophy this season. As the current leader of the Sudanese championship, El Hilal has demonstrated formidable performance. Despite a recent 4-1 defeat against El Ahli Shandi in a championship encounter, El Hilal remains a frontrunner. El Ahli Shandi’s unexpected progression to this stage of the competition has been marked by notable victories, including triumphs over Ferroviario Maputo, Simba SC, and Coton Sport de Garoua in the play-off match. Notably, the Shandi club has secured three consecutive victories at home, scoring seven goals without conceding. Their objective is to potentially upset one of the established Sudanese teams and create a surprise—a trend the Confederation Cup has witnessed in recent seasons.
The third Sudanese team, El Merreikh, recognized as a distinguished Cup team, will face the Angolan representative, Interclube, in front of their home crowd. Interclube, despite facing challenges in the national championship, recently revived their hopes by defeating the league leader, Recreativo de Libolo. Although out of contention for the national title, the Luanda club aspires to progress in the CAF Cup after reaching the semi-finals in the previous season, where they were defeated by the eventual winner, MAS of Fez, based on the rule of goals scored away. Interclube has familiarity with Sudan this season, having previously traveled there during the round of 16, securing victories over El Amal Otbara, with a 4-1 result in Luanda and a 2-0 outcome in Khartoum. However, the upcoming challenge against El Merreikh is anticipated to be on a significantly elevated competitive plane.
