APR FC’s central defender Clement Niyigena believes his side is capable of eliminating Tanzania’s Azam FC in the first preliminary round of the 2024/25 CAF Champions League.

Azam will host APR in Tanzania between September 13-15 before the two teams face off in Kigali for the return leg between September 20-22.

The team that comes out on top will face off with Egypt’s Pyramids FC or Zanzibar’s JKU SC in the second round of the competition.

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"Azam is a great team but we can beat them. We have to prepare for this match,” Niyigena said.

"Champions League games are tough but we need to put in effort to get a good result,” he added.

APR had an abysmal Champions League campaign during the 2023/24 season as they bowed out in the second round following a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Pyramids FC.

APR made its first appearance at the CAF Champions League in 1997 and they were eliminated in the first round. They faced similar fate in 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2007.