The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have granted an extension for the registration of players for the first preliminary round of their inter-club competitions.
The original deadline, which lapsed last Thursday, saw clubs scrambling to complete their player registrations. However, on Sunday, CAF announced an extension to the deadline, giving clubs until Thursday, 25 July – an additional week – to finalise their registrations.
NPFL clubs in CAF Inter-club competitions
Three Nigerian clubs are participating in the first preliminary round of CAF’s inter-club competitions: Rangers International, Remo Stars, and El Kanemi Warriors.
Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) champions, Rangers International, received a relatively favourable draw. They will face US Zilimadjou of the Comoros in the preliminary stage.
Should they progress past the Comoros side, they will then take on the winner of the match between St. Louis of Seychelles and Segrada Esperanca of Angola for a place in the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
For Nigeria’s other representative in the CAF Champions League, Remo Stars, the task will be more challenging. They will face ASFAR of Morocco, a team they encountered in the 2022 edition.
In the CAF Confederation Cup, President Federation Cup winners El Kanemi Warriors will compete against Dadje of Benin Republic in the preliminary round.
Enyimba, Nigeria’s other representative in the Confederation Cup, will not face issues with registration at this stage as they have been granted a bye from the preliminary round of the competition.
The fixtures for the preliminary stage of the Champions League and Confederation Cup are scheduled to commence from 16 August.
This extension provides Nigerian clubs with a crucial opportunity to strengthen their squads and complete necessary registrations to ensure they are well-prepared for their upcoming matches in the prestigious African inter-club competitions.
