The Msimbazi Reds secured their place in the group stage after defeating Equatorial Guinea’s 15 de Agosto 3-0 in Dar es Salaam to complete a commanding 9-1 aggregate victory.
Simba's nine goals across the two matches underlined their attacking strength and confirmed their status as one of the teams to watch in the next phase.
For Orlando Pirates, who are the reigning South African champions, they booked their place in the group stage with an emphatic 5-0 aggregate victory over African Stars, including a commanding 4-0 triumph in the return leg.
The game was finely poised after the Buccaneers came away with a narrow 1-0 victory from their away leg. However, in the return leg at Orlando Amstel Arena, Pirates secured a 4-0 win over the Namibian giants to advance.
Barker is familiar with Pirates having coached University of Pretoria in the Premier Soccer League (PSL) in 2012, and later handled AmaZulu, Stellenbosch, a team he guided to win the 2023 Carling Knockout Cup.
Under Barker, Stellenbosch finished third in the 2023/24 South African Premiership, before he led the club to the semi-finals of the 2024/25 Confederation Cup, defeating Egyptian giants Zamalek in the quarter-final before losing to Simba.
Apart from Simba, and Pirates, other teams in Group C include Colombe Sportive of Cameroon, who will face a tough debut in the group stages having caused an upset over Mali’s Stade Malien in the last qualifying round, and regulars RS Berkane of Morocco.
‘Pirates are a really good team’
“I am excited to be playing against Orlando Pirates. I have had many battles against them back in South Africa,” said Barker after learning of the draw, as quoted by the Guardian.
“They are also a really good team, having won the Premiership in South Africa last season. If you want to reach the latter stages of these tournaments, you have to get through the group stages, regardless of the opposition you have.
“We have to find a way to ensure that we qualify for the knockout stages.”
Simba defender Shomari Kapombe said: “I am happy that we have seen the groups and that we, as players, now know our opponents.
“The most important thing is that there is only one team in the group that we have not met before, while we have played against the other two. We know how difficult these matches can be.”
Pirates are the former champions of the Champions League having won it in 1995 after defeating ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast in the final (winning 3-2 on aggregate after a famous 1-0 win in Abidjan sealed by Jerry Sikhosana), becoming the first South African and Southern Hemisphere club to lift the trophy.
Pirates followed up their Champions League triumph by winning the CAF Super Cup the following year, and reached the final again in 2013, but lost 2-0 on aggregate to Egypt’s Al Ahly.
For Simba, they have a long and storied history in African club football, highlighted by a historic run to the semi-finals of the African Cup of Champions Clubs (now the CAF Champions League) in 1974 and multiple quarter-final appearances in the modern era.
Simba’s only previous encounter with the Buccaneers was during the Confederation Cup quarter-finals in the 2021/22 season, where the South African outfit prevailed on penalties following a 1-1 aggregate score over two legs.
Azam want to reach the quarters
Meanwhile, Azam FC coach Florent Ibenge believes the Tanzanian club have what it takes to get past their group in the Confederation Cup. Azam have been drawn alongside Morocco’s AS FAR Rabat, Libya’s Al Ahly Tripoli and South Africa’s Durban City FC.
“The teams are very good. When you speak about AS FAR Rabat, you are talking about one of the best teams in Morocco. They are really good,” explained Ibenge.
“Al Ahly Tripoli are among the richest teams in Africa. They bring in a lot of good players, so it is really difficult. We are also going to South Africa to face a team with a different style of football.”
On what Azam wants to achieve in the competition, Ibenge said: “We want to go to the quarter finals, and I think the other teams have the same ambition. When you are competing at this level, every team wants to do as well as possible.”
On facing AS FAR, the veteran coach said: “It will be really close because the teams are strong. We have six games to play, and we are going to believe in ourselves until the last game, until the last minute of the last game.”
For a second successive season Azam progressed to the group stage after stopping Egypt’s ZED FC 2-1 on aggregate. Azam drew the first leg 1-1 away before winning the return leg 1-0 at home.
