Moghreb Tetouan, representing Moroccan football in the Champions League, has been drawn into Group A for the quarter-finals of the competition, where it will face TP Mazembe (DR Congo),
Al Hilal (Sudan), and Smouha (Egypt). While Raja Casablanca, in the play-offs of the Confederation Cup, will face Étoile du Sahel, managed by Faouzi Benzerti.
Moroccan clubs engaged in African competitions now know their opponents, after the draw, carried out on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo. In the Champions League, Moghreb Tetouan has been drawn into Group A, where it will challenge the Congolese of TP Mazembe, the Egyptians of Smouha, and the Sudanese of Al Hilal. The Tetouanis thus avoid travelling to Algeria, whose three representatives, namely Entente Sétif, USM Alger, and MC Eulma, are in Group B, alongside Al Marreikh (Sudan). The reigning Moroccan champions therefore avoid a perilous trip to Algeria, where Raja Casablanca suffered martyrdom and was eliminated, in a match in Sétif, in an electric atmosphere. Tetouan will still be able to play the surprise card, while fuelling its dreams of greatness, by aiming for a place in the semi-finals. Given the large squad, the objective seems achievable. During its first outing, the MAT will travel to Egypt to face Smouha, before receiving TP Mazembe and visiting Al Hilal in Oum Dorman. The return phase will be played respectively against Al Hilal, Smouha, then TP Mazembe.
The 1st day will be played on 26 June, while the last will take place on 11 September.
In the Confederation Cup, Raja Casablanca will face Étoile du Sahel, in one of the many clashes of the "Bis" round of 16. The Greens will host at the Mohammed V Complex a Tunisian team that has already triumphed in Casablanca twice, in 1999, at the expense of Wydad in the CAF Cup, before snatching the Supercup from Raja, two months later. Moreover, for Karrouchi's teammates, the confrontation will have a special flavour, since it will pit them against their "former-future" coach, Faouzi Benzerti, tipped to take over the reins of the Casablanca club at the end of the season.
Indeed, the transfer of teams eliminated from the round of 16 of the Champions League has provided a quality field. The confrontations that resulted from it are true summits, such as Al Ahly-Club Africain, Sfax-ASEC Mimosas, or even Stade Malien-AS Vita. The first leg matches will be played at the "reprieved" of the Champions League, over the weekend of 15 to 17 May, while the return matches will be played three weeks later.
