None would imagine seeing CAF Champions League football coming back in Kigali this season after APR FC’s routine early elimination from the preliminary round at the hands of familiar foes and holders Pyramids. But, two months later, Al Hilal are hosting the first group stage match in the Rwandan capital after submitting Amahoro Stadium as their home ground for the remaining of the season of the competition. The Sudanese club’s first test will be against Group C rivals MC Alger from Algeria this Friday, November 21. “We are going to try to play good football and win the game. We will try to cover and attack and we will try our best to win the game because playing well without winning does not mean anything,” Al Hilal head coach Laurențiu Reghecampf told journalists in a press conference on Thursday, November 20. The club is settling the country whose league welcomed them to participate in the season’s campaign after the Confederation of African Football cleared them to join the league. “We are very fine and I believe my players will be ready for the game and we have amazing condition which have everything and we believe we will use our chances.” “I think it’s been more than three years playing outside of our country. At the moment, we are better than the previous season and I believe in our players so than we can win.” Commenting their opponents ahead of Friday’s Group C opening clash, he said, “we know each other and we were in same group in the past.” “We will try to play good football and win the game. It is a must-win for us; they are very strong team and we look forward to playing quality football” he added Al Hilal and MC Alger are pooled in Group C with last year’s runners-up Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, and DR Congo’s St Éloi Lupopo, all of which have rich pedigree and fervent followings. The club hopes to go further in the African club’s premier competition this season after reaching the quarter-finals last season. “Last time was different from today. We have new players and coaching staff, and we believe that we can use the opportunity. I hope my players will be ready.” “We have a good stadium which we can use to win the game. We are playing one of the best teams in Africa but we will be ready for the challenge,” he said. Al Hilal Omdurman, have been in Kigali since October 31. The Sudanese giants hold training sessions at Amahoro training pitch and have played some friendly matches as they settle into their temporary home. The Blues and Whites enjoy strong support from the Sudanese diaspora in Kigali, joined by Arab communities and an already warm Rwandan fan base that has quickly embraced the team. Sudanese students in Rwanda will enter the stadium to watch the match for free only if they present their student cards. The Champions League winners will receive USD 4,000,000 in prize money, while the runners-up will take home USD 2,000,000.
