CAF: Five things APR, AS Kigali need to do to qualify for Group stages

The 2022/2023 CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup competition will begin next month (August) with different teams across the continent battling to become the best in Africa. Rwanda will be represented by league winners APR in the CAF champions league which is the first tier competition with AS Kigali battling it in the Confederations Cup after winning the Peace Cup. In the history of CAF Club competitions, APR’s semifinal berth in the then Cup winners competition during the 2002/3 season remains the club’s biggest achievement in continental football. Two decades down the line, APR FC will be hoping to better their record by at least going a step further whereas AS Kigali will also be aiming to achieve that feat. In terms of quality, the current APR team is not anywhere close to the squad of 2002/3 which had the likes of Olivier Karekezi, Jimmy Gatete, Jimmy Mulisa, Jean Lomami and Eric Nshimiyimana but with some reinforcements, the squad they have now and that of their counterparts AS Kigali can do something big in Africa. Times Sport takes a look at five things both teams should do to make it to the Group stages which is the money zone of the competition. Reinforcing the teams with quality players Both APR FC and AS Kigali must bring in more quality players if they are to make an impact in Africa. For the Army side, experienced players are needed in their attack and defense. The APR striking line looks blunt and they need a prolific attacker to take to the CAF Champions League. One name they have to consider is Police FC striker Antoine Dominique Ndayishimiye who was in good form last season. AS Kigali has a good striker in Shabani Hussein but their back leaked many goals, something they need to work on before the CAF confederations cup starts. Adequate preparation Both teams are likely to start their continental campaign before the league starts which means the players must start preparations early and play friendlies with top clubs in the region and the continent. The likes of Simba, Azam, Yanga, Vipers, Solar7 are all top teams in the CECAFA region who will also be competing in Africa and will be ready to test their strength against APR and AS Kigali. Home games must always be a win To make a good impact in Africa, you must always win your home games especially if you are hosting the opponent first as it can give a significant boost in the return leg. APR may have learnt their lessons now as last year they could have knocked out eventual confederations cup winners RS Berkane if they had won the first leg in Kigali. The Army club drew goalless in the first leg of the preliminary round and in the second leg, they took the lead before RS Berkane fought back to win 2-1. Motivation should be high Playing in an Africa club competition is a different ball game altogether as players meet some of the best home based players on the continent. There should be special incentives by APR and AS Kigali to motivate the players. These incentives should be financial in nature. Most of the clubs that do well in continental football competitions have such incentives in place Players should be ready mentally for away games African football away games are full of antics, and intimidation. Home teams resort to this old age tactics in order to have psychological edge over their opponents. This is very typical with the North and West African countries. Players of APR FC and AS Kigali must tune up their mind that if they are to go far in the competition, they must be able to overcome such obstacles.

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CAF: Five things APR, AS Kigali need to do to qualify for Group stages