- Botswana champs to face last season’s CAF Champions League quarter-finalists
- Guaranteed cash prize of P6.14m should spur them on to the group stages
BONGANI MALUNGA
Local champions Jwaneng Galaxy survived a late surge from CAF Champions League preliminary round opponents DFC 8eme to advance to the first round.
Galaxy won the first leg 2-0 in Gaborone on September 11 and lost the second leg 1-0 last Friday but progressed to the next round courtesy of an overall 2-1 aggregate score.
The Jwaneng side will now face Tanzanian champions Simba Sporting Club (SC) in the first round whose first leg is scheduled for 15 October 15 in Botswana and the return leg in Tanzania a week later. Simba SC have reached two CAF Champions League quarter-finals in the last three seasons.
Galaxy will have a chance to reach the group stages if they eliminate Simba SC. They will also be aiming to become only the second Botswana team to reach the group stages after Township Rollers in 2018.
Reaching the group stages has a guaranteed cash prize of US$550 000 (approximately P6.14 million). The cash injection would be a major boost for the club as local teams have not been able to generate any income since March last year.
Galaxy reached the first round where they were eliminated by South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns last year. The elimination saw them drop down to the CAF Confederation Cup where they were eventually eliminated by another South African club, Orlando Pirates.
Galaxy will be hoping for better fortunes this time around.