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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 June 2000 Issue No. 485 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 June 2000 Issue No. 485
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Luck of the draw
By Abeer AnwarIsmaili and Zamalek should have an easy time while Ahli will have a rougher ride in the light of the quarter-finals draws of their respective African football club championships made in Cairo.
Attended by Farah Addu, deputy chairman of the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF), former German great Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Mohamed El-Dib, representative of the Egyptian Football Federation, the draw pitted Ismaili against the Dwarfs of Ghana, Zamalek against Senegal's ASAC Ndiambour and Ahli in a group which includes Ghana's Hearts of Oak.
In the CAF Cup draw, Ismaili was lucky to meet Ghana's Dwarfs, a club whose history in cup play is as small as its name. Ismaili will play the first leg at home and the second away.
First leg matches for all teams going into the quarter-finals in the CAF championship will take place sometime between 4 and 6 August while the second-leg matches will be on 18, 19 and 20 of the same month.
If Ismaili goes through to the semis, it will meet the winner of Cameroon's Coton de Garoua and Ivory Coast's Stade d'Abidjan. The first leg will be played at home sometime between 13 and 15 October and the away match on the 27, 28 or 29 of the same month. If Ismaili is lucky enough to reach the finals, the encounters will be on 24 or 25 or 26 November and the second match on 8 or 9 or 10 December.
Ismaili reached the quarter-finals after thrashing Libya's Mahala in the first round 5-1 at home and losing 2-3 away. In the second round, Ismaili blanked Sudan's Hay Al-Arab 8-0 at home while the latter withdraw from the second leg match.
Addu about to fish out the name of a club during the draw
photo: Abdel-Wahab El-Sehiti
Seven clubs qualified for the quarter-finals of the CAF championship: Algeria's J S Kabylie, Coton de Garoua, Stade d'Abidjan, Dwarfs, Nigeria's Iwuanyanwu, Tunisia's E S Sahel and the winner from Zambia's Nchanga R and South Africa's Kaizer C whose match was postponed until after the draw.
The draw for the African Cup Winners' Cup pit Zamalek against Senegal's ASAC Ndiambour who, like the Dwarfs of Ghana, should pose few problems. First leg action starts at home on either 4 or 5 or 6 August and the away game on 18 or 19 or 20 of the same month. If Zamalek follows the game plan and qualifies for the semi-finals, it will play the winner of Morocco's Asfar and Reunion's Saint Louisienne. The first leg will be at home on either the 13 or 14 or 15 of October and the away game on either 27 or 28 or 29 of the same month. Should Zamalek reach the final, it will play away on either 17 or 18 or 19 of October and the second on either 1 or 2 or 3 of December.
Zamalek qualified for the quarter-finals after pounding Tanzania's Young Africans 4-0 at home and drawing 1-1 away, then beating Ethiopia's Coffee 2-1 at home, losing to the Ethiopians 1-2 away before finally winning 4-2 on penalties.
Joining Zamalek is Cameroon's Canon Yaounde, Congo's Etoile du Congo, Libya's Al-Ittihad, Asfar, Niger's Jeunesse Sportive, Saint Louisienne and ASAC Ndiambour.
Egypt's Ahli will have the most trying test since it plays in the Champions League, usually the toughest of the three championships. The format of this competition differs: starting from the quarter-finals eight teams participate, four in a group. Round-robin matches are played in each group with the winner of each group meeting one another twice to decide the ultimate champion.
Ahli and Tunisia's Esperance S T were seeded as the top teams and consequently were put in separate groups. In its group Ahli will face a familiar face, Ghana's Heart of Oak, Senegal's Jeanne d'Arc, Nigeria's first-time participant Lobi Stars. The other group has Esperance, Ivory Coast's Africa Sports, South Africa's Sundown and newcomers Sable de Batie of Cameroon.
Ahli will play its first match away against Hearts of Oak on either 21 or 22 or 23 of July. The two met in the quarter-finals last year when Ahli lost 2-1 in Ghana and won 2-0 in Cairo. Ahli will play its second match at home against Lobi Stars on either 4 or 5 or 6 August and its third against Jeanne d'Arc away on either 18 or 19 or 20 August. Its fourth game will be at home against Jeanne d'Arc on 13 or 14 or 15 October. Its fifth game is at home against Hearts of Oak on either 27 or 28 or 29 October and its sixth against Lobi Stars away on either 10 or 11 or 12 November. If Ahli qualifies for the finals it will meet the winner of Group A, playing its first leg match away on 1 or 2 or 3 December and its second match at home on either 15 or 16 or 17 December.
Egypt and Cameroon were the only countries to have three teams still in the running in the three championships.
After the draw Adidas and CAF announced a multi-year sponsorship deal under which Adidas will be the official footwear, textile and ball supplier of all CAF events.
