2022 CAF Interclub Preliminaries: Watanga, LISCR to Know Opponents Today

Watanga FC will represent Liberia in the CAF Champions League

 

Liberia’s 1st division champions, Watanga and FA holders LISCR FC will know their opponents for the 2022 CAF Interclub preliminaries today, August 9, as the draw is set to be conducted later today in Cairo, Egypt.

Watanga will represent Liberia in the CAF Champions League, the top-tier competition of African club football, while LISCR FC will represent the country in the CAF Confederation Cup, a competition ranked below the champions league.

The draw will see 52 teams paired in the First Round of the Champions League with the 26 winners progressing to the Second Round to join the six teams that received a bye.

This will be Watanga’s first appearance in the continental competition, having emerged as champions of the Liberian league for the first time since their establishment in 1997.

During the previous edition, Liberia was represented by former champions LPRC Oilers. Oilers progressed to the Second Round after defeating Togelese champions ASKO De Kara  4-2 on aggregate. They eventually lost 4-0 on aggregate against Moroccan champions Raja Casablanca in the second round, missing out on the group stage.

No team from Liberia has progressed to the group stage of the continental interclub competitions.

The tw0-legged tie was played in Morocco after the Moroccan Football Federation granted Oilers the use of the stadium due to CAF’s ban placed on both SKD and the ATS.

Oilers dropped in the playoff of the CAF Confederation Cup and were paired against South African side Orlando Pirates. They lost 2-0 at home, but withdrew ahead of the second-leg, due to the “inability of CAF to relocate their second leg match with Orlando Pirates from South Africa to a neutral venue due to the new Covid-19 variant [Omicron].”

In the previous edition of the CAF Confederation Cup, Monrovia Club Breweries had a disappointing performance against Malian 2nd division side, Binga FC.

Breweries suffered a 3-0 away to Mali and shockingly lost 2-0 at home after their opponents had travelled by road from Mali and arrived in Liberia on the eve of the match day.