CAF Champions League kicks off in a few days and Ghana is well represented by Medeama in the continental challenge.
Medeama will face Remo Stars from the neighbouring country, Nigeria, in the qualifying first round of the CAF Champions League League.
Head coach Umar Abdul Rabi will be in charge of Medeama. The 37-year-old tactician has been in charge of the Ghanaian top-flight outfit for two seasons now, dating back to November 2021.
With 1.65 points per match from 49 games in charge, Medeama's head coach has so far seen his side bag 24 wins, 9 draws and 16 defeats, most in the domestic league.
It is a modest run for a club that hasn't had much success in recent years. Thus, Medeama fans are hopeful their head coach will be instrumental in seeing their club progress beyond Champions League qualifiers.
A major test CAF Champions League debutants Medeama in a clash with Nigeria's Remo Stars
This will be the first time Medeama makes a CAF Champions League appearance since the club was founded in April 2002. It is also the first time the Nigerian side, Remo Stars, will play a CAF Champions League fixture, so this is a debut of all sorts.
Seven years later, the Takwa-based club is set to face Africa's football giants in a gruelling battle for the CAF Champions League placement.
Up against Remo Stars this weekend at the Cape Coast Stadium in the first leg of the CAF Champions League Qualifiers⚽️🏆#Nevergiveup 💜💛 pic.twitter.com/MEkOrFrD0y
— Medeama SC – 22/23 GPL Champions (@MedeamaSC) August 14, 2023
The Ghanaian club had a great run last season to win their first-ever Ghana Premier League title.
According to the club's communication director Patrick Akoto who spoke to the media in June as soon as Medeama were declared the Ghana Premier winners for the time, the club will build on past experiences to stage a great performance against Remo Stars.
Medeama participated in the 2016 CAF Confederations Cup in which they faced Young Africans (Tanzania), TP Mazembe ( DR Congo), and MO Bejaja (Algeria).
The Ghanaian club did not lose a home game in the group stages but were unlucky not to progress to playoffs due to an inferior goal difference against MO Bejaja.
Will Medeama go beyond qualifying rounds in their first CAF Champions League campaign?
Round 1 of the 2023 CAF Champions League will be a qualification stage and Medeams are set to make a statement from the onset.
While Medeama haven't been at this stage before, a clash with Remo Stars, another debutant in the CAF Champions League means Medeama vs Remo Stars in the first leg and Remo Stars vs Medeama in the second leg of Round 1 qualifiers will be exciting to watch.
Medeama will host Remo Stars at the Cape Coast Stadium on 20th August in the first leg of the CAF Champions League qualifying round. The return leg will be played on 26th August in Nigeria.
Remo Stars, which is one of the two Nigerian teams in the 2023 CAF Champions League, emerged 2nd in the NPFL Championship round behind Enyimba.
Remo participated in the last CAF Confederation Cup in September 2022. However, their campaign ended at the qualifying stages after a 1-1 draw in the first leg away from home and a 0-1 home defeat against AF FAR of Morocco.
Medeama have not been to a continental challenge since 2016 when they missed the playoffs in the Confederations Cup on goal difference.
However, drawing from their past experience 7 years later, Medeama are expected to stage a strong performance in front of a filled home stadium to get the edge ahead of the second leg away in Nigeria.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
