The business end of the 2022/2023 CAF Champions League is drawing closer, with the draw of the group stages set to take place on Monday 12 December 2022 in Cairo, Egypt.Ahead of the event, this is the story of the season so far, after the completion of the first two preliminary knockout rounds.The numbersThere will be a total of twelve countries represented in the knockout stage of this season’s competition.The thrill of African football. 🌍🤩#TotalEnergiesCAFCL | #TotalEnergiesCAFCC pic.twitter.com/Qbaa1aXFET— TotalEnergies CAFCL – TotalEnergies CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) November 21, 2022 Egypt (Al Ahly, Zamalek SC), Sudan (Al Hilal, Al Merreikh), Algeria (CR Belouizdad, JS Kabylie), Morocco (Raja CA, Wydad AC), Tunisia (EST), Cameroon (Coton Sport), Mali (Horoya AC), South Africa (Mamelodi Sundowns), Angola (Petro de Luanda), Tanzania (Simba SC), DR Congo (AS Vita Club), Uganda (Vipers).The North African dominanceThere are seven North African teams qualified to the group stages. Defending champions Wydad Athletic Club are in, though they were made to work for an assuring victory in the second leg before edging out Nigeria’s Rivers United 7-2 on aggregate.Training in the rain! ☔️#DimaWydad pic.twitter.com/plxIhS9PQH— Wydad Athletic Club (@WACofficiel) December 8, 2022 They lost 2-1 away, but responded with a 6-0 home victory. Arch rivals Raja Club Athletic are also in with former champions Al Ahly and Zamalek making the Egyptian spots.Algeria (CR Belouizdad, JS Kabilye) and Tunisia (Esperance) are also ably represented.##NAJAVA_MECA_6881967##The casualtiesFive-time champions TP Mazembe were the biggest casualties of the preliminary round, having been eliminated by Uganda’s Vipers SC.The result led to the firing of the entire technical bench to revive Mazembe, who have since qualified for the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup.What’s next for the Qatar 2022 stadiums post World Cup?The surprise packageUgandan champions Vipers provided the biggest upset in the preliminary rounds when they eliminated five-time champions Mazembe 4-2 on post match penalties. This was Vipers’ first ever qualification into the group stages of the Champions League.The five-time Ugandan Premier League champions now hope to continue the same run of form and they hope for a favourable group when the draw is conducted.MASSIVE!!! Vipers eliminate continental giants TP Mazembe on penalties to progress to the CAF Champions League group stages for the first time ever. Wow! Big result for the Ugandan champions. Impossible is NOTHING! Onwards and upwards Venoms. 👏🏾👏🏾 pic.twitter.com/bUt1VKDZTR— Usher Komugisha (@UsherKomugisha) October 15, 2022 The top scorersMamelodi Sundowns, 2016 winners of the Champions League, showed their intent clear by picking the biggest ever win in the preliminary rounds of the competition.They thrashed Seychellois side La passe 15-1 on aggregate. They won the first leg 7-0 and the return fixture 8-1, both matches being played in South Africa due to the lack of a certified ground in Seychelles.Sundowns, who had an unbeaten run in the group stages last season but eliminated in the quarters, showed they mean business.
