Aigbogun sure Enyimba will pass Zamalek, Setif test

Zamalek of Egypt and Entente Setif of Algeria are two of the toughest teams in this year’s CAF Champions League group stage, but Nigerian champions, Enyimba, are not fazed by the threat posed by the North African sides.

Enyimba were paired with Zamalek, Setif and South Africa’s Sundowns in Group B of the competition by the draws made at the CAF headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, yesterday.

The 2003 and 2004 champions defeated another North African side, Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia, to qualify for the group stage of the competition, which kicks off on June 17, 2016.

Sundowns, who are current South African champions, came into the competition following yesterday’s disqualification of AS Vita for fielding a suspended player.

Setif, who won the competition in 1988 when they defeated Iwuanyanwu Nationale, are also Algerian champions. They last won the CAF Champions League two years ago.

However, despite the pedigree of their opponents, Enyimba Coach, Paul Aigbogun, yesterday boasted the ‘Peoples Elephant’ would overcome the challenge to qualify for the semifinal of the competition.

“We knew that at this stage of the competition no group would be easy, so we are prepared for the challenge. All these teams are champions in their own rights and we respect them, but we fear nobody,” he said.

Enyimba will kick off their group stage campaign on June 17 with a home game against Zamalek.
Group A features record African champions, Al Ahly, ASEC Mimosas, ZESCO United and Wydad Casablanca.