Bhantal FC head coach Ibrahim Sillah is feeling optimistic as his team gears up for their first leg in the CAF Confederation Cup against the former African powerhouse Hafia of Guinea.

The CAF License A tactician is poised to lead the team in its inaugural participation in the CAF Confederation Cup for the 2025/26 season. Sillah brings lots of extensive expertise to the club he joined a few weeks ago.

The Sierra Leonean club will host the Guinean side this Saturday at the Southern Arena for the first leg of the preliminary round. Coach Sillah recognises the challenges of competing at this level of continental football.

“First of all, I want to highlight our team’s chances against Hafia. It’s important to acknowledge that Hafia is a three-time winner of the African Cup of Champions Clubs, now known as the CAF Champions League, as well as a one-time champion of the UFOA Cup. We need to respect their history,” the CAF A License coach stated.

Although we are making our debut in this competition after just two seasons in the Sierra Leone Premier League, I believe we are strong contenders. This is our chance to create our own legacy by winning the first leg at home. We need to come out on top, and I have faith that we can do just that on Saturday.”

In Port Loko, we prepared by playing three friendlies against Port Loko All Stars and Waterloo FC, winning both matches and drawing 1-1 with the champions, East End Lions.

Meanwhile, the 16-time Guinean champions Hafia have arrived in Bo, the second largest city in Sierra Leone by population (after Freetown) and the largest city in the Southern Province.

The two teams will compete again next week in the return match in the ivorian capital. The winner from both matches will play against the Algerian team CR Belouizdad in the second round of the preliminaries.