1st round/first legAPR v Zamalek Confederation Cup1st round/first legHarar Beer v Rayon Sport The 2006/07 Primus league champions, APR will face Zamalek FC of Egypt in the first round of the African Champions league slated for next year. The national and regional champions are in for a big test against a club they eliminated back in 2004. In the 2004 champions league preliminary round, APR under their former and current Atraco coach Jean Marie Ntagwabira opened their campaign in style with 7-1 and 2-4 home and away wins over Eritrea’s Ansheba to set up a second round clash with Zamalek. Playing Zamalek who boasted of five titles and a squad packed with experienced international stars; APR lost 2-3 in Cairo before pulling off a shock 4-1 victory at Amahoro stadium after a remarkable performance from Belgium based midfielder Jimmy Mulisa. However, that was the end of the winning streak as the army-side was narrowly edged 5-4 by Ivory Coast’s Africa Sports on penalty shoot outs. The winner between the APR-Zamalek tie will face the winner between Tonnere FC and Africa Sports. Confederation CupRayon Sport who missed out on last year’s Confederation Cup return to action with a tie against Harar Beer (Ethiopia). In 2006, the blues crashed out of the tournament by Egypt’s Al Ittihad Al-Iskandary in last year’s edition after a superior 3-1 goal aggregate. The blues had seen-off Ethiopia’s Awassa City after a 2-0 goal aggregates in both legs.However, they missed out of this year’s edition after finishing third on the Primus league table, giving a chance to Atraco to make their maiden appearance in the continental championship. If Rayon gets past the first round, it will clash with Sudan’s Al Merreikh in the second round. The first legs of both events will be held on the weekend of February 15-17 with the return legs being played on the weekend of February 29 and March 1-2. Ends
