CAIRO — Egyptian powerhouses Al-Ahly and Pyramids will face Sudan’s Al-Hilal and Morocco’s FAR Rabat, respectively, in the CAF Champions League quarter-finals.
The first-leg matches are set for April 1, 2025, with the return fixtures on April 8. The semi-finals will follow the same format, leading to the final in June.
In the CAF Confederation Cup quarter-finals, Egyptian clubs Zamalek and Al-Masry will meet tournament debutants Stellenbosch of South Africa and Simba of Tanzania, respectively.
The quarter-final legs are scheduled for April 2 and 9, with the Zamalek-Stellenbosch winner facing the victor of the Al-Masry-Simba clash in the semi-finals.
Defending champions Al-Ahly, 12-time winners of the competition, finished runners-up in their group but are tough customers, aiming to become the first club to claim the title three seasons in a row.
Al-Hilal, coached by DR Congo’s Florent Ibenge, topped their group despite playing home matches in Mauritania due to ongoing conflict in Sudan. Their solid defence will be crucial against the reigning champions.
Pyramids, with Croatian coach Krunoslav Jurcic at the helm, scored 14 goals in the group stage, the joint-highest tally, while AS FAR, led by Portuguese coach Alexandre Santos, went unbeaten during their group campaign.
In another mouth-watering clash, South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns will take on Esperance Sportive de Tunis of Tunisia, cafonline.com reported.
Sundowns, winners in 2016, are aiming to break their semi-final barrier, having failed to progress beyond that stage since their title win.
Esperance, four-time champions, topped their group and recently claimed the Tunisian Super Cup under Romanian coach Laurențiu Reghecampf.
The final quarter-final match will see MC Alger of Algeria, who conceded just two goals during the group stage, take on South Africa’s Orlando Pirates.
Pirates, the 1995 champions, topped their group with 14 points and are looking to reach the semi-finals for the first time since finishing as runners-up in 2013.
MC Alger, under Tunisian coach Khaled Ben Yahia, boast the competition’s meanest defence.
Following the quarter-final draw, the semi-final line-up was also determined.
The winner of the clash between Mamelodi Sundowns and Esperance will face either Al-Ahly or Al-Hilal.
Meanwhile, the victor between MC Alger and Orlando Pirates will meet the winner of the Pyramids versus AS FAR tie.
Elsewhere, a North versus South duel kicks off the quarter-finals when two-time champions Zamalek of Egypt resume their title defence against tournament debutants Stellenbosch of South Africa.
Ivorian powerhouse Asec Mimosas, who is yearning for continental glory again, will take on two-time champions RS Berkane of Morocco.
Berkane has been the best performing side of the group stages, collecting the most points (16) without a loss in the group stage campaign.
A mouth-watering Algerian derby awaits in what promises to be an explosive North African duel.
CS Constantine, who is making their debut in the knockout stages, take on a highly spirited USM Alger side that is looking to reclaim the title they won in 2022/23.
The last quarter-finals clash will see Egyptian side Al-Masry take on an in-form Simba SC of Tanzania, who is aiming to go beyond the last-8 stage for the first time since the 2021/22 season.
The semi-final draw of the competition was also conducted.
The winner of the tie between RS Berkane and Asec Mimosas will face the victor of the all-Algerian quarter-final between USMA and CS Constantine.
The second semi-final will be between the winner of the tie between Simba SC and Al-Masry, and the clash between Zamalek SC and Stellenbosch FC.
