The Black Bulls Association, one of Mozambique's leading football teams, is about to make history by entering the group stage of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup for the first time. The draw to determine the opponents in this stage will be held today at 1 p.m. in Cairo (12 p.m. in Maputo), where 16 qualified teams will be divided into four groups of four.
In this decisive stage, the top two teams from each group will advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face even greater challenges. The Black Bulls, a newcomer with no significant history in the competition, will not be among the top seeds, which could put them in the path of powerful opponents such as Zamalek (Egypt), the current holders of the trophy, USM Algiers (Algeria), Enyimba (Nigeria), or Simba (Tanzania).
The CAF Cup group stage will begin in late November and run until February of next year. To get here, the "Bulls of Tchumene" overcame two qualifying rounds, first eliminating Alizé Fort of Comoros with an impressive 11-0 aggregate victory, and then AS Otohô d'Oyo of the Republic of Congo. Against the Congolese side, the Black Bulls advanced thanks to the away goals tiebreaker, after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
With qualification secured, the club also secured a financial prize of $400,000, which represents a significant incentive for this stage of the competition.
Black Bulls' potential opponents at this stage include historic teams such as ASEC Mimosas (Ivory Coast), CS Sfaxien (Tunisia), Berkane (Morocco), among others, with Angolan teams Bravos de Maquis and Desportivo Lunda Sul also standing out.
This will be the first time in seven years that a Mozambican club has reached the group stage of an African club competition, repeating the feat achieved by Ferroviário da Beira in the African Champions League in 2017. Tchumene's team, after a thrilling comeback in the last round, now carries the country's hopes in the African Cups, with the ambition of making a mark in the continental competition.
