RS Berkane and Zamalek SC face off in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup 2023/24 Final in Berkane, Morocco, on Sunday at 10.00 PM EAT.This season marks the 21st edition of the competition and with every season, exciting African club football memories continue to be engraved in the rich history books of African football, with this edition set to continue the legacy.##NAJAVA_MECA_8094793##The double-legged tie will then conclude a week later at the Cairo International Stadium, when Zamalek plays host to the second leg on Sunday, 19 May.Both Berkane and Zamalek raised their hands and stamped their authority as the tournament’s firm favourites after finishing at the top of their respective groups without a single loss en route to the final.While the Moroccans have enjoyed more CAF Confederation Cup success than their Egyptian counterparts, having won the title twice and losing out once in the final, Zamalek has proven cup pedigree and will certainly aim at repeating their 2019 success over the Moroccans to halt what could potentially be a five-year continental trophy drought for the White Knights.It’s D-DAY at the beautiful Barkane Municipal Stadium in Morocco The Big game CAF Confederation Cup final first leg RS Berkane vs Zamalek This is a repeat of the 2019 final .@soka25east pic.twitter.com/7ZSTvTcSDy— Collins Okinyo (@bedjosessien) May 12, 2024 When the two sides met in the 2019 finals, Zamalek needed penalty shootouts to win the tie and Dayo Isoufou, who took part in the game with Berkane, understands the pain of losing the finals and was confident of getting revenge against the White Rhinos and compensating for the 2019 defeat“As captain of the team, I always try to bring calm and serenity to all my teammates. We have a lot of promising players. In 2019, I played in the final against Zamalek, and unfortunately, we didn’t win. It is a bad memory for me. I think that we lost something in Egypt in 2019, and we must bring it back home this time around. It will not be easy against a good side like Zamalek, but as players, we are motivated to get the trophy and to make our fans happy,” offered the Burkinabe defender.Police eye City Stars’ scalp as Leopards seek to extend unbeaten run against TalantaDespite missing six players through injuries, Zamalek head coach Jose Gomes is adamant that his players will rise to the occasion and command a vital win heading to the second leg.”We have been preparing for this moment and we are optimistic we will get good results despite knowing our opponents are also a very good side. Berkane are a tough team and that motivates us to work hard in the final both here in Morocco and back home in Egypt.”Yes, we miss six players, but I can’t complain because I trust my other players to play against a strong team like Berkane. I am optimistic about getting good results if we maintain our tempo and concentration.”Berkane is interesting because of how they organize their tactical game, but we have come up with our strategy.”.Mathare focused on quick FKFPL comebackThe match will be officiated by Kenyan referees, with Peter Waweru Kamaku as the centre referee, Gilbert Kipkoech as the first assistant referee, and Stephen Onyango as the second assistant referee.Quotes obtained from CAF Online
