By MICHAEL MIYOBA
ZAMBIA’S only envoys in the CAF Confederations Cup, Zanaco FC have been placed in Group A regarded as the group of death consisting of North African giants.
According to the draws conducted yesterday in Cairo, the Bankers who progressed to the Group Stage after beating Binga FC of Mali 3-2 on aggregate will battle Pyramids FC of Egypt, CS Sfaxien of Tunisia, and Ahli Tripoli of Libya for a place in the quarter-finals.
And despite being paired against Africa’s best, Zanaco FC coach Kelvin Kaindu has described Group A as a fair group.
Kaindu is however worried that the trips to North Africa may affect how Zanaco performs on the local front.
“It’s a fair draw. We have information about Pyramids, we know how they play, we have played them before. We have been to Pyramids, we are aware about the training pitch, the venue, we may even be aware of the hotel we are going to camp in.
“The only things may be the team from Libya which we don’t know but I think it is a fair draw that has been given to us. The only challenge we may have is our fixtures, meaning we will have to fly to North Africa going through Dubai and coming back, this is what makes it very difficult to catch up with league games,” Kaindu said.
The CAF Confederations Cup group stage games resumes in February next year and Kaindu believes the two months before the group games resume is enough for Zanaco to do the planning.
“We have enough time to plan and prepare for the group stage games. We will have enough time to prepare but like I said, it hasn’t been easy flying to North Africa, it takes two or three days for you to be on the road and we will be playing with teams that are tactically disciplined, teams that have got the reputation, teams that have been at that stage, Pyramids have shown that and Zanaco has also shown that they have the pedigree. The last time Zanaco was in a group full of North African clubs and they did well despite not qualifying to the knock out stage,” he said.
Kaindu is also aware that the Bankers need a lot of planning and a lot of depth in the team to compete in both the CAF games and the local league.
Meanwhile, South Africa’s Premier Soccer League side Orlando Pirates have been drawn in Group B of the CAF Confederation Cup.
The Soweto giants will face JS Kabyle and JS Saoura, both of Algeria, and Al Ittihad SC of Egypt.
Group C has former CAF Champions League champions and DR Congo giants Tout Puissant Mazembe, Coton Sport of Cameroon, Al Masry of Egypt and Congo Brazzaville’s AS Otoho d’Oyo.
Tanzanian giants Simba SC are in Group D alongside RS Berkane of Algeria, ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast and US Gendarmerie of Niger.
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