By Chernor Alimamy Kamara
In the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League, Bo Rangers who are debutants in the competition will host Algerian top side, CR Belouzdad at the Samuel K. Doe Stadium in Liberia, while FC Kallon will engage Les Buffles in Benin.
Bo Rangers opponent, CR Belouzdad is an Algerian professional association football club that has won their league three times in a row from 2020, 2021 and 2022 league seasons. They have represented Algeria in the Champions League on four occasions, four times in the Confederation Cup and twice in the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup
Belouzdad have won the Algerian domestic league title eight (8) times, the Algerian Cup 8 times, the Algerian League Cup once, Algerian Super Cup twice and the Maghreb Champions Cup for a record of 3 times.
They are said to have played a total of 12 matches in Africa CAF Champions League. Their current statistics stands at 7 wins, 3 draws and 2 losses.
CR Belouzdad have qualified for the CAF quarter finals for two consecutive seasons; the latest was their 4-1 victory at home against 10-man Botswana debutants, Jwaneng Galaxy.
They lost 2:0 against ES Tunis in their final match in the competition in the 2021/2022 CAF Champions League.
They have competed in their league called Ligue Professionelle for a record 55 seasons, playing just one season in the second tier in 1988-1989.
For FC Kallon’s opponent, Les Buffles Football Club du Borgou is a Benin professional football club that competes in the Benin Premiere League.
They had won the Benin premiere League five (5) times: 1980, 1992, 2014, 2017 and 2019. They have also won the Benin Cup three (3) times: 1979, 1982, 2001 and they emerged runners-up in 2000.
Les Buffles had won the Benin Super Cup one (1) time in 2014.
They withdrew from their only appearance in the CAF Champions League in 1993.
They had made four (4) appearances in the African Cup of Champions Clubs in 2015, 2018, 2020, 2021 and were eliminated in the preliminary rounds in all of those outings.
They had made one appearance in the CAF Cup Winners’ Cup and got eliminated in the first round in 1983.
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