By: Mohamed Abu Conteh
Champions of Sierra Leone BO Rangers Football Club has on 27th August 2023 knocked out LISCR FC of Liberia in the CAF Champions League Preliminary round at Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Stadium Complex in Paynesville, Liberia.
The goal king of the WAFU Under -19 tournament 2019 edition, hosted in Guinea, Suffian Kalokoh created the difference in the 5 minutes proceedings of the match with a close-range finish after he picked up Samuel Kwaku Bekoe’s cross in the eighteen-yard box and was enough for Bo Rangers FC to advance to the next round on aggregates 2-1 following a 1-1 draw last weekend at the Southern Arena in Bo City.
Suffian Kalokoh, who has also traded his football career in Sweden with IFK Varnamo scored six goals and provided four assists in the 2022/23 Sierra Leone Premier League despite starting a bulk of the matches from the bench.
After reaching the second round of the CAF Champions League for the first time in the Club’s history, Bo Rangers will battle with Algeria’s CR Belouizdad for a group stage spot in the 2023/24 CAF Champions League in a double-legged qualifier.
Both sides met in the 2022/23 CAF Champions League preliminary round, however, CR Belouizdad eliminated Bo Rangers FC on aggregate 3-0 and went further to reach the quarter-final but were knocked out by South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns FC on aggregate 6-2.
Also, CR Belouizdad appeared in the quarter-final stages of the three previous CAF Champions League but has yet to reach the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the first leg encounters of the 2023/24 CAF Champions League are scheduled for the 15th -17th of September, 2023.
Champions of Sierra Leone Bo Rangers will host CR Belouizdad of Algeria on September 16th, 2023 expectedly at the Southern Arena Stadium.
However, F.C. Kallon will also play host to Dreams Football Club of Ghana on 17 September 2023. Dreams FC eliminated Milo FC of Guinea 3-2 on aggregate at the Accra Sports Complex Ghana, while FC Kallon swiftly advanced to the next round after Niger’s AS Douanes withdrew in the first-round preliminary qualifiers of the CAF Confederation Cup.
The returned leg for both the CAF Champions League match between Chabab Riadhi Belouizdad – CRB vs Bo Rangers and Dreams FC vs FC Kallon in the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup is expected between September 29th to October 1st in Algeria while the Confederation Cup returned leg match will be played in Ghana.
The winners for both the Champions League and Confederation Cup progress to the Group stages of the respective inter-club competitions which commence later in November 2023.
