The past weekend saw the climax of the continent’s elite club football competition the Caf champions league with the 2nd legs of the quarter finals taking place. Some of the headline encounters included the Maghreb derby pitting Cairo giants Al Ahly of Egypt and Esperance of Tunisia with the Tunis giants playing host to their Egyptian counterparts, with Mamelodi Sundowns travelling to Bamako where Stade Malien lay in wait to overturn a first leg deficit of 3 goals having lost 3nil in Pretoria a week prior, whilst Pyramids and Far Rabat, RS Berkane and Al Hilal completed the set of quarter final 2nd legs.
Mamelodi Sundowns Portuguese tactician coach Miguel Cardoso in a presser before they left for Bamako emphasized the need not to count their chicks before they hatch making mention of how Stade Malien had topped their group, which only had juggernauts of African club football enroute to the quarter finals, and how regardless of the first leg result in which his Sundowns men came out 3nil victors, there was still 90 minutes to play.
And true to his remarks Stade Malien was looking to give the Pretoria giants a run for their money, and playing in conditions they are familiar with soaring temperatures of close to 40 degrees Celsius the Bamako outfit were on the front foot from the first whistle.
Esperance Stun Al Ahly in Cairo
In the most dramatic tie of the round, Espérance Sportive de Tunis produced a stunning away performance to eliminate the record 12-time champions, Al Ahly. Having won the first leg 1-0 in Rades, Esperance traveled to Cairo knowing the task was far from complete. In a thrilling second leg at the Cairo International Stadium, the Tunisian side shocked the Egyptian giants with a 3-2 victory, completing a 4-2 aggregate win and sending the reigning champions crashing out of the competition on their own turf.
All-Moroccan Affair Takes Shape
RS Berkane secured their place in the semi-finals after a tense battle with Sudan’s Al Hilal. Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, the Moroccan side held their nerve at home, scoring a dramatic 93rd-minute winner to clinch a 1-0 victory on the night and a 2-1 aggregate triumph.
Meanwhile, AS FAR Rabat completed the all-Moroccan semi-final line-up by dispatching Egypt’s Pyramids FC. AS FAR carried a 2-1 advantage from the first leg and replicated that exact scoreline in Cairo, winning 2-1 away to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory and eliminate the defending champions.
Semi-Final Fixtures Set
The results have set up scintillating semi-final clashes between African football royalty and Moroccan rivals:
| Semi-Final | Matchup | First Leg | Second Leg |
| SF1 | Esperance (Tunisia) vs Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) | April 12 (Tunisia) | April 18 (South Africa) |
| SF2 | AS FAR Rabat (Morocco) vs RS Berkane (Morocco) | April 11 (Morocco) | April 18 (Morocco) |
The all-Moroccan tie guarantees that a team from Morocco will reach the final, while the clash between Esperance and Sundowns pits two of Africa’s most consistent heavyweights against each other in what promises to be a thrilling encounter.
The final is scheduled for May 2026, with African football fans eagerly awaiting which two clubs will battle for continental supremacy.
