Can 1998 champions ASEC Mimosas reclaim their CAF Champions League place?

ASEC Mimosas are aiming to restore their status among Africa’s leading clubs as they return to the CAF Champions League after a two-year absence. The Ivorian side, one of the teams that helped shape African football during the latter part of the 20th century, will begin this season’s campaign against ASCK of Togo in the first round of the preliminary stage.

The club’s return to the continent’s leading competition raises a familiar question: can ASEC Mimosas once again challenge for the highest honours in African club football?

ASEC Mimosas have struggled to reproduce the success they enjoyed during their most influential period. Their history, however, remains significant. The Mimos, as the club are known, won the African title in 1998 and continue to be associated with the development of talented players through the quality of their academy.

That reputation for youth development has long been central to the identity of ASEC Mimosas. The club will now look to combine that tradition with a strong run in a competition where their previous appearance ended in the quarter-finals.

During the 2023-24 season, ASEC Mimosas finished top of a group that included Wydad Casablanca, Simba SC and Jwaneng Galaxy FC. Their position at the summit offered evidence that the club could compete with established names from across the continent.

Their progress ended in the last eight, though, when they were eliminated at home by Esperance Sportive de Tunis. That result brought an end to an encouraging campaign and left ASEC Mimosas still searching for a return to the level reached by the club’s celebrated teams of the past.

The opening tie against ASCK provides a direct test of those ambitions. It also brings the two clubs together again after ASEC Mimosas eliminated the Togolese side in a previous encounter several years ago. The first-round meeting therefore carries both competitive importance and an element of familiarity.

If ASEC Mimosas come through the tie, they will face the winner of the match between MAS de Fes of Morocco and Rahimo FC of Burkina Faso. Their route to the group stage will therefore depend first on negotiating the challenge posed by ASCK before another cross-border contest awaits.

For the Ivorian club, the campaign represents an opportunity to build on their last continental appearance rather than simply return to the competition. ASEC Mimosas have already shown that they can finish above respected opponents in the CAF Champions League. The challenge now is to turn that promise into a deeper run and revive the continental glory associated with the club’s 1998 triumph.