Bo Rangers and FC Kallon ready for CAF inter club showpiece
Sierra Leone’s representatives at the 2022/2023 CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup BO Rangers and FC Kallon have discovered their opponents after the draw on Tuesday August 9, 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.
The Champions of the Sierra Leone top flight league, Bo Rangers FC will be representing the country in the CAF Champions League, and FC Kallon who replaced East End Lions will be playing in the Confederation Cup.
During the draw in Cairo, Bo Rangers are drawn against CR Belouizdad of Algeria in the first preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.
Sporting Club of Belouizdad, known as Chabab Belouizdad or CR Belouizdad or simply CRB for short, is an Algerian association football club based in Algiers, Algeria, that plays in the Ligue Professionnelle 1, the top flight of Algerian football. The club has competed in the top division for a record 55 seasons, playing just one season in the second tier in 1988–1989.
CRB was founded on 15 July 1962, ten days after the independence of Algeria, as Chabab Riadhi de Belcourt, by the merger of two clubs from the same district, the Widad Riadhi de Belcourt and the Club Athéltique de Belcourt, and has played at its current home ground, the 20 August 1955 Stadium, ever since.
CRB has traditionally worn a white home kit with the red trademark “V” on the front since inception.
CRB has produced several notable players and established itself as a major force in both Algerian and Maghrebin football during the 1960s and 1970s, winning 10 major trophies in 8 seasons.
The Grand Chabab is one of the most successful clubs in Algeria, having won the domestic league title eight times, the Algerian Cup eight times, one Algerian League Cup, two Algerian Super Cups and the Maghreb Champions Cup a record three times.
Meanwhile, this will be BO Rangers FC first appearance in the continent’s biggest club football competition. The Elephants, as they are fondly called won the 2021-2022 Sierra Leone Premier League for the first time in the history of the club.
The pride of the south, Bo Rangers will host the Algerian based club for the first leg tie, before travelling away for the return leg of the first preliminary round in Algeria.
FC Kallon will be battling with Buffles de Borgou of Benin in the first preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup.
The Cavaliers got their ticket to the Confederation Cup after the second place finisher in the Sierra Leone Premier League, East End Lions FC, withdraw from their participation due to an unexplainable reason.
FC Kallon will be returning to the continental second tier club football competition after missing out for over 10 years. The last time they played in a CAF club competition, was against Union Douala of Cameroon and Warrie Wolves of Nigeria in the Confederation Cup.
The Cavaliers knocked out Union Douala in the preliminary rounds with a 2-1 win on aggregate after a 1-0 victory in Freetown, and a 2-0 defeat away to Douala in Cameroon.
They progress to the next stage, but they were eliminated by Warrie Wolves of Nigeria 2-0 on aggregates in the first round, following a 2-0 home win in Doula after a 0-0 draw in Freetown.
Les Buffles Football Club du Borgou, famously known as Les Buffles du Borgou, is a Beninese professional football club based in Parakou, that competes in the Benin Premier League.
The club was founded on 1976 in Paraku under the name of Association Sportive Buffles FC du Borgou after the merger of the two major clubs of the city.
All first leg matches will hold within the weekend of 9-11 September and second leg set for 16-18 September.
Second round will hold between 7-9 and 14-16 October, respectively.
