David GOMBE
Vipers SC will begin their CAF Champions league adventure away to Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy in the first leg of the Preliminary round on Sunday (4PM) at the Lobatse Sports Complex.
The Venoms will be seeking to reach the group phase of the competition for a second consecutive time.
Last season, they went all the way into the group stages after eliminating Olympic Real De Bangui (Central Africa) and TP Mazembe (DR Congo).
Vipers SC head coach Leo Neiva Martins is optimistic that his charges will prevail over Jwaneng Galaxy
“I believe in our capacity and preparations as a team and I believe we can surprise Jwaneng Galaxy FC. We are here to try and win the game and that’s why we are going to try and do our best.”
He has also flashed a warning to his players over their opponents
“Jwaneng Galaxy have had a good run in the CAF Champions league and three or four years ago they beat Tanzania’s Simba SC.” He told the club website
Meanwhile, Jwaneng Galaxy are two time Botswana Premier league champions and are under the stewardship of South African tactician Morena Ramoreboli.
Ramoreboli guided the side to their maiden CAF Champions league group stage in 2021, then eliminating Messager (Central African Republic) and Simba SC (Tanzania) in the first and second round qualifiers respectively.
He is also a former South African National team, Bafana Bafana head coach whom he led to the 2021 COSAFA Cup.
This is the first meeting between Jwaneng Galaxy and Vipers SC.
After the first leg the two sides will face off on 25th August at St.Mary’s Stadium in Kitende to determine the aggregate winner.
The winner over two legs will face either Comoros’ Djabal FC or South Africa’s Orlando Pirates in the second Preliminary round in September.
