CAF Interclub preliminary draw: Coton Sport face Matlama FC & PWD Bamenda meets Elgeco Plus

The pairing was confirmed following the draw of both for TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup conducted this Tuesday August 9 in Cairo, Egypt.  
Both Coton Sport and Matlama FC are making their return to Africa’s pinnacle club competition.

Coton Sport of Garoua- record 17-time Elite One champions-secured their return to the CAF Champions League for the first time since 2019 after successfully defending their top tier crown last month.

They had previously reached the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup twice in a row prior to their qualification. During the 2020/2021 season they got to the semi-final and lost. But during their last appearance the following season they were dumped out of the race to qualify for the knock-out stages after failing to win any of their six games.

Their opponents, Matlama FC have won more trophies than any other club in Lesotho. They have clinched the trophy 10 times and have also collected six cup titles. Last season, they finished as runner-up.

Despite their domestic dominance, they have failed to exert their influence at continental level. They last featured in the CAF Champions League in 2011 and were eliminated in the preliminary round.

n 2004, they qualified for the CAF Champions League but were knocked out in the preliminary round by Orlando Pirates. Seven (7) years later, they made a return but another South African club-Super Sport United condemned them to a preliminary round exit.

The first leg of the clash Matlama FC vs Coton Sport of Garoua and shall be played between September 9-11.  Meanwhile the reverse fixture is scheduled to run from September 16-18, 2022.

The winner of the two-legged fixture faces either Royal Leopard of Eswatini or CFFA of Madagascar in the next round. 

PWD of Bamenda . 
PWD of Bamenda will face Association Sportive Saint Michel (ASSM) Elgeco Plus of Madagascar in the first preliminary round of the 2022/2023 CAF Confederation Cup.

It will be the third appearance of the Cameroonian club at the continental level after their last spell in 2020.

The Abakwa boys are featuring in the continent’s second tier interclub competition for the second time after an unsuccessful campaign in 2004 where they were eliminated by TP Mazembe in the CAF Confederation Cup first round.

Following their historic Elite One title success in May 2020, they went on to make their CAF Champions League debut but lost to Kaizer Chiefs in the preliminary round 0-1.

In 2022, they won the belated Cup of Cameroon trophy for the first time in their history to qualify for this season’s CAF Confederation Cup. But, they missed out from a Championship playoff spot finishing third of their pool 9pts behind eventual winners Coton Sport. Also, they suffered a shocking first round exit to third tier side AS real in the Cup of Cameroon.
ASSM Elgeco Plus are in their third appearance in the CAF Confederation Cup but their first in 7 years. They made their debut in 2014 and were booted out in the preliminary round. In 2015, suffered the same fate.  

IYA Ibrahima (intern )