Rayon Sports will know their CAF Confederation Cup group opponents in today’s draw that takes place in Cairo, following their historic qualification after eliminating Costa do Sol of Mozambique with a 3-2 aggregate win in the play-off round. The event will be televised on South African pay TV channel Supersport The blues are unseeded and could fall in any of the four groups that will have seeded teams like Enyimba FC of Nigeria, Algeria’s USM Alger, Sudan’s Al Hilal and AS Vita Club of DR Congo. Rayon Sports returned on Friday morning to a hero’s welcome from thousands of their supporters and proceeded to Kigali Stadium in Nyamirambo where they celebrated until the wee hours. Eric Ndayishimiye, Rayon Sports goalkeeper and skipper, told Times Sport that they will take whatever teams they are drawn against, adding that the biggest lesson he has learnt about continental competitions is to win your home games and not concede. “I can’t single out teams which could be easy for us. I think they are all tough opponents for a team like Rayon Sports, which will be playing in CAF group stages for the first time,” Ndayishimiye said. No club from East Africa has won a continental club title since 1989 when Al Merreikh of Sudan won the now defunct African Cup Winners Cup. The Confederation Cup is the second-tier club competition in Africa. The group stage teams are USM Alger, Al Hilal, Vita Club, Enyimba, ASEC, Young Africans, CARA Brazzaville, WAC, Al-Masry, Aduana Stars, Gor Mahia, Djoliba, Raja Casablanca, RS Berkane, UD Songo, and Rayon Sports. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
