Rangers head north, Kallon stay west in Caf Inter-clubs first-round

 Newly crowned Sierra Leone champions Bo Rangers and FC Kallon have discovered their opponents for this year’s TotalEnergies CAF Interclub competitions preliminary rounds next month.

Debutant PK Boys (B Rangers) to host Algerian side CR Belouizdad in the CAF Champions League preliminary first leg whilst FC Kallon play away in Benin against Les Buffles du Borgou.

The first leg matches are scheduled to take place between 9-11 September, with the second leg slated for a week later.

The aggregate winner of CR Belouizdad and Rangers over two legs will face the winner between Deportivo Mongomo Equatorial Guinean football club and Djoliba Athletic Club Malian football in the second round in October.

A fresh start for Sierra Leonean clubs as they begin their continental journey in both TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies Confederation Cup.

Bo Rangers won the Sierra Leone topflight for the first time in 68 years to be bookmarked as the second team outside the capital Freetown to win the Sierra Leone Premier League after Diamond Stars won it in 2012 and 2013.

FC Kallon is no stranger to the continental stage – In 2007, fifteen years ago, FC Kallon eliminated Nigerian side Ocean Boys 1-0 on aggregate in the African Champions League preliminary after both sides played to a goalless draw in Nigeria.

The Cavaliers were eliminated by Ivorian Champions Asec Mimosa 3-1, who won both matches to progress.

In the 2012 CAF Confederation Cup, FC Kallon eliminated Cameroon’s Union Sportive de Douala in the preliminary but faced stiff competition against Nigerian Warri Wolves. They won 2-0 on aggregate in the first round.

Preliminary rounds dates

First Round (Home/Away): 09 – 11 Sep / 16 – 18 Sep 2022

Second Round (Home/Away): 07 – 9 Oct / 14 – 16 Oct 2022

Sierra Leone’s biggest club achievement in CAF competitions.

Mighty Blackpool, one of the most decorated Sierra Leone clubs, reached the quarter-final stage of the African Cup of Champions in 1989. That was the first time a club from Sierra Leone had reached that stage.

They were handed a walkover in the preliminary round when Benfica de Bissau withdrew from the competition. The Tis Tas Boys eliminated Algerian club ES Sétif 5–3 on penalties after the two matches ended all square at 1–1 in the first round.

In the Second round, they met Djoliba AC again, this time winning 2–1 on aggregate. They went out of the competition in the quarter-final stage losing 4–1 to Tonnerre Yaoundé of Cameroon.

Moroccan side Raja Casablanca won the 1989  final defeating Algeria side, MC Oran, 1-0 at the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca.

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