Preparations for the new football season swing into action this weekend when African Stars host three African clubs in a pre-season tournament at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium.
Angolan champions Petro Atletico de Luanda, Lesotho champions Lioli FC, and DR Congo runners-up AS Maniema will be in action in the two-day tournament in preparation for their CAF African Champions League and Confederation Cup campaigns.
African Stars chairman Salomo Hei said football fans can look forward to some top class action.
“This is going to be a top class tournament between some top sides on the African continent. All these teams are preparing for the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup so they will provide tough competition,” he said.
AS Maniema and Lioli FC both arrived in Namibia yesterday and already held their training sessions in Windhoek, while Petro Atletico will arrive this afternoon in a private jet from a pre-season training camp in Portuigal.
Petro Atletico is Angola’s most successful club, having won the Angolan Premier League, or ‘Girabola’ on 19 occasions since their independence in 1975, followed by Primeiro de Agosto with 13 titles. In recent years they have dominated the Girabola, winning it for the past four years in a row.
They have regularly competed in the Champions League with their best result coming in 2022 when they reached the semifinals before losing 4-2 to the eventual champions Wydad AC of Morocco.
They will play the Mauritian champions Cercle de Joachim SC in the Champions League preliminary round with their first leg scheduled for the weekend of 19-21 September.
“Petro Atletico is ranked amongst the top 20 countries in Africa – they have been to the knockout stages of the Champions League and will provide a serious challenge,” Hei said.
Lioli FC are one of the most successful clubs in Lesotho having won the Lesotho Premier League on seven occasions. Only Matlama FC with 11 titles and Lesotho Defence Force with 10 have been more successful since 1970. Lioli have been the Lesotho champions for the past two years in a row and last season comfortably beat Matlama FC by six points to win the title.
They have been drawn to play South African giants Orlando Pirates in the preliminary round of the Champions League and Hei said they will provide a stern challenge.
“Lioli FC want to have strong competition because they have drawn South African giants Orlando Pirates and want to be well prepared for them,” he said.
AS Maniema are the DR Congo league runners up and have now qualified for the CAF Confederation Cup for the fourth time.
Last year they qualified for ther Champions League for the first time and reached the knockout stages after beating Ngezi Platinum of Zimbabwe on penalties and Petro Atletico 2-1 in the qualifying rounds.
In the group stages, they finished bottom of their group on three points after three draws against Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, and Raja Casablanca and AS FAR of Morocco.
In their return match at home against Sundowns, Namibian ace striker Peter Shalulile played a starring role in Sundowns’ 2-1 victory, which helped them reach the knockout stages where they would go through to the final before losing 2-1 to Pyramids of Egypt.
Jephte Kitambala gave Maniema the lead shortly before half-time, but Shalulile equalized in the 83rd minute, and then his pressure in the box resulted in an own goal deep into injury time to give Sundowns a 2-1 victory.
“AS Maniema will be staying a bit longer in Namibia and will also play a friendly against Young African who are preparing for the Africa Confederation’s Cup,” Heii said.
African Stars are preparing for their Champions League preliminary tie against Ugandan champions Vipers SC and Hei said the tournament will provide them with good preparation.
“It will be a really good test for us and our preparations for the Champions League. We’ve been training for four weeks now and everything is on track and this tournament comes at the right time,” he said.
“We urge the fans to come out in numbers to see some top-class African football, while there is also a possibility that SuperSport will televise the games. We are still negotiating with them but these teams have huge fan bases back home so there is a lot of interest in the tournament,” he said.
The tournament will kick-off with two first-round matches tomorrow afternoon, with African Stars playing Petro Atletico de Luanda, and AS Maniema playing Lioli FC, while the third-place playoff and the final will be held on Sunday.
Tickets are available at webticket.com.na for N$50 per day or N$80 for both days. VIP tickets go for N$2 000 per day or N$3 000 for both days.
Hei called on fans to buy their tickets online and arrive early so that there won’t be delays at the gate.
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