Wydad Casablanca and Mamelodi Sundowns of Pretoria are playing in the first final in the history of CAF’s new competition, the African Football League (ALF). First round this Sunday, November 5 in Morocco for the first leg against the Casablancais.
3 mins
After eliminating Esperance de Tunis on home soil on Wednesday (1-0; 0-1, tab 5-4), Wydad did not celebrate its qualification for the final of the African Football League for long. The next day, Thursday November 2, the club learned of the death of its left back, Oussama Falouh. The player, who arrived in July, died following a road accident on October 11. Victim, with his car, of an impact with a heavy goods vehicle, he was in intensive care in a clinic in Casablanca. The 24-year-old, trained in the same Mohamed VI Academy as OM player Azzedine Ounahi, was a Moroccan international hopeful.
Sunday at 6 p.m. UT, against Mamelodi Sundowns, tributes will be there for Oussama Falouh and the 45,000 supporters of Mohamed V are surely expecting a victory to dedicate it to him.
Four million dollars to the winner
The Casablanca club advances into this final in the position of favorite against the South Africans who achieved the feat of knocking out the Egyptians from Al Ahly in the semi-final. Champions League title holders, the Cairo club was the big favorite in this competition, but will miss the repeat of the last Champions League final.
Winner of the Champions League in 2016, Mamelodi Sundowns brings back fond memories of African club football with this qualification to the final. Above all, Patrice Motsepe, president of CAF and also of the Sundowns club, must be delighted after having led the fight for the creation of the African Football League.
The winning club in the final is guaranteed to pocket a check for $4 million. The unsuccessful finalist will receive $2.8 million.
For this first competition, eight teams were chosen by CAF to represent the North (Espérance Sportive de Tunis, Al Ahly FC, Wydad Athletic Club), Center-West (TP Mazembe, Enyimba FC) and South-East (Mamelodi Sundowns, Simba, Atlético Petróleos) from the African continent,
Program and results of the African Football League (Time in UT)
Final first leg November 5
Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)-Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) 6 p.m. UT
Return November 11
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa)-Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco)
Semi-finals First leg
Wydad Athletic Club – Esperance de Tunis 1-0
Mamelodi Sundowns- Al Ahly 1-0
Semi-finals second leg
Espérance de Tunis – Wydad Athletic Club 1-0 (tab: 4-5)
Al Ahly-Mamelodi Sundowns 0-0
Quarter-final first leg
Simba SC (Tanzania) – Al Ahly (Egypt) 2-2
Atlético Petroleos de Luanda (Angola) – Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) 0-2
TP Mazembe (DR Congo) – Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia) 1-0
Enyimba FC (Nigeria) – Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco) 0-1
Quarter-final second leg
Al Ahly (Egypt) – Simba SC (Tanzania) 1-1
Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa – Atlético Petroleos de Luanda (Angola) 0-0
Espérance de Tunis (Tunisia) – TP Mazembe (DR Congo) 3-0
Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco) – Enyimba FC (Nigeria) 3-0