It’s done. AS Otohô has qualified for the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup. Having already won the first leg 1-0 in Maputo, the club from Oyo finished the job on October 26th at the Alphonse Massamba-Débat stadium in Brazzaville, defeating Ferroviario 2-0 in the return leg.
The opportunity was golden, and AS Otohô seized it at a crucial moment in the match. The first forty-five minutes had just passed, making way for a brief minute of added time. On the last action of this period, AS Otohô was awarded a penalty, converted by Prince Mouandza Mapata (45+1 min). As if symbolic, the other defender imitated him seven minutes after the restart. Charles Atipo, with a heavy and powerful strike, sealed AS Otohô’s fate in the 52nd minute.
The Oyo-based team returns to the Confederation Cup group stage for the third time in its history after the 2019-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons, during which it was eliminated without reaching the quarter-finals. The challenge is now enormous. However, the lack of a domestic league is already a concern internally, as evidenced by the message conveyed by the players after the match. “Sport plays an essential role in the lives of Congolese youth. Today, we ask for one thing only: peace. Because without peace, there is no pitch. Without a pitch, there is no game, and without the game, our dreams die,” they said. Charles Atipo added: “Congo needs its youth. The youth need peace to keep sports alive.”
The AS Otohô coach appeared more concerned, as the group stage is a highly competitive tournament. Without a domestic league, the mission becomes very difficult, considering the strength of the opponents. Besides AS Otohô (Congo), the fifteen other teams that have secured their qualification are no lightweights: Azam FC (Tanzania), Zamalek SC (Egypt), CR Belouizdad (Algeria), Wydad Casablanca (Morocco), Zesco United (Zambia), USM Alger (Algeria), AS Maniema Union (Democratic Republic of Congo), Singida Black Stars (Tanzania), FC San Pedro (Ivory Coast), OCS FC (Morocco), Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa), Stellenbosch FC (South Africa), Djoliba AC (Mali), Naibori United FC (Kenya), and Al Masry (Egypt).
“The situation is very complicated because we are going to play the group stage and there is no domestic league here. I will go directly to my superiors and try to create a schedule that will allow us to have competition. For the start of the league, we hope the authorities will find common ground and try to put the country first. My only concern is to have a competitive team to represent the country with dignity,” stated the AS Otohô coach at the post-match press conference, without, however, hiding his pleasure.
“Today we achieved qualification for the group stage. This is very important for us because since we arrived here,