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By: Abiodun Adewale
Nigeria’s representatives in this season’s CAF Confederation Cup, Rivers United, will know their quarter-finals opponents next Tuesday after the Confederation of African Football confirmed the date for their two continental tournaments.
The draws will be held in Cairo, Egypt starting with the Confederation Cup, while the Champions League will follow an hour later.
“The quarter-finals draw for the 2023/24 TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup will be conducted on Tuesday March 12, 2024,” CAF said in a statement on Tuesday.
Rivers United finished second in their group and are on a collision course with table toppers from the three other groups which are USM Alger (Algeria), Zamalek (Egypt) and RS Berkane (Morocco).
The Pride of Rivers are in the quarter-finals of the competition for the second consecutive season, but they were eliminated by Young Africans of Tanzania last season.
While coach Evans Ogenyi has vowed that the club will improve in the knockout stage this season, captain Nyima Nwagua also said they have everything to win the tournament.
“We have worked hard to get to this point. We will not look down on ourselves. We have everything to win the cup,” Nwagua said via NPFL Tori Podcast.
Other teams in the knockout stage of the Confederation Cup include Dreams FC of Ghana who topped Rivers group, Modern Future (Egypt), Abu Salem (Libya) and Stade Malien (Mali).
The teams in the last eight of the Champions League are; Al Ahly (Egypt), ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast), Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa), Atletico Petroleos (Angola), TP Mazembe (DR Congo), Simba SC (Tanzania), Espérance Sportive de Tunis (Tunisia) and Young Africans (Tanzania).