Nigeria and South Africa Renew Rivalry As Remo Stars Draw Mamelodi Sundowns in CAF Champions League
- Nigeria and South Africa will renew their rivalry in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round
- The two countries have faced off in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier, with South Africa leading the group
- Both matches ended 1-1 in Uyo and Bloemfontein, with the latter dealing the Super Eagles a qualification blow
Nigeria and South Africa are set to renew their rivalry in the CAF Champions League second preliminary round after their league champions were drawn against each other.
Super Eagles and Bafana Bafana have faced off in the CAF qualifying series for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with both matches ending in a 1-1 draw in Uyo and Bloemfontein.
Source: Getty Images
South Africa leads Group C with 17 points and is closer to picking up the automatic slot ahead of Nigeria, which has 11 points in third position.
However, FIFA’s investigation into Teboho Mokoena's yellow card case could result in a three-point deduction for Bafana Bafana and change the landscape of the group.
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The two countries have been going at each other on social media over the case, with Mzansi confident they will qualify even with a three-point deduction.
Remo Stars to face Mamelodi Sundowns
According to iDiski Times, Nigeria Premier Football League champions Remo Stars will face Premier Soccer League side Mamelodi Sundowns in the second preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.
The NPFL champions defeated US Zilimadjou of Comoros 5-0 on aggregate in the first round to set up a tough match against Sundowns in the next round.
The Brazilians, who reached the final of the competition, skipped the first round of the preliminaries due to their higher spot on the CAF coefficient rankings.
Remo Stars could become the first Nigerian club to reach the group stage of the Champions League after Lobi Stars in 2019, as noted by Africa Top Sports.
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Head coach Daniel Ogunmodede, speaking to Flashscore before the match against Zilimadjou, said their target is to do better than the previous season.
"Well, the priority is to be better than what we did last season. That is the priority this time,” he said.
Source: Getty Images
Remo has taken its CAF Champions League ambitions further than last season, when they were eliminated in the first round after a penalty shootout loss to Ghanaian club Medema FC.
However, if they want to take it even further, they must find a way past Mamelodi Sundowns to reach the group stage for the first time in their history.
Ogunmodede had earlier claimed that his side is not afraid of the South African giants and that he had looked forward to the match.
The first leg will be played at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta on October 18, before the second leg a week later at Loftus Versfeld Stadium on October 25.
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Nigeria faced South Africa in FIFAe qualifier
Legit.ng previously reported that Nigeria faced South Africa again during the African qualifying series for the 2025 FIFAe World Cup qualifier.
The South Africans prevailed yet again, knocking Nigeria out and progressing as one of the countries to represent Africa in Saudi Arabia later this year.
Source: Legit.ng
