By Kalumiana Kalumiana
As the protracted wait for the Zambia league domestic season continues for at least another month, Power Dynamos and Red Arrows this Saturday set the pace on continental duty in competitive action in the preliminary rounds of the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup, respectively.
Power headline the weekend in the top-tier CAF Champions League, where they face El Merriekh of Sudan over two legs.
Osward Mutapa’s side is away in the first leg that will be played in Kigali this Saturday.
El Merriekh are playing the match in Rwanda because of the protracted civil strife in Sudan.
Power return for a second successive CAF Champions League outing after a successful campaign in the same competition in the 2025/2026 edition when they finally ended their drought to make a group stage debut.
Mutapa has stressed that Power intends to make another strong statement this season with emphasis on getting the most from their away matches starting this weekend against El Merriekh.
“An important assignment. First game, you need to get a positive result, and that puts you halfway through. A positive result is important so that as we start the campaign, we know where we are going,” Mutapa said.
“It’s important that we start on a high note and a positive note because it will mean we are halfway through the two legs, but you know football is played away and home in this competition.”
Sudanese clubs have enjoyed an edge over Zambian clubs in the knockout phase of continental football, with Zesco United and Zanaco including Power victims, especially against the major Khartoum teams, which include El Merriekhs’ rivals Al Hilal.
Green Buffaloes were more fortunate against El Merreikh in the second round of the 2004 CAF Confederation Cup when they overturned a 1-0 away loss in Khartoum to win 2-0 in Lusaka, but were eliminated in the third round, pre-group stage, by Cotonsport of Cameroon.
Power will actually be facing El Merriekh for the first time in 25 years, which also came in the CAF Champions League.
El Merriekh ejected Power from the first round of the 2001 CAF Champions League by completing a double in that tie, winning 2-0 in Khartoum and 2-1 away in Kitwe.
However, Power had better luck against lesser-known Al Khartoum in the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup when they won 2-0 in the return leg , first round tie at Arthur Davies Stadium in Kitwe advanced 2-1 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Arrows start their sixth attempt at qualifying for the group stages of continental club competition for the first time when they host little known RC Rouge of Madagascar this Saturday in their CAF Confederation Cup preliminary stage, first leg match at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola.
Arrows coach Chisi Mbewe said they are not underrating their unknown opponents FC Rouge.
“It’s a team that we should not underrate. I think we have tried to research here and there. It‘s a team that is tactically and technically good. A team that has good speed. So I think we have got a little information about them,” Mbewe said.
Rouge arrived in Ndola on Wednesday, and coach Maldini Fenososa said while they also have very little information on Arrows, their objective was to get a positive away result this weekend.
“In general it is a very closed book to us, and what we have found out about red arrows is through social media, but we have done our homework and have come here to get a positive result,” Fenososa said.
The final legs will be played next weekend during the dates of September 11-13 to decide which teams advance to the pre group knockout round that starts during the week.
