The long-awaited draws for the preliminary round of the CAF Champions League were held on Monday in Cairo, Egypt.
Ugandan champions Vipers Sports Club were drawn against Sudan’s Al Hilal with the first leg to be played on the weekend of November 27-29 and the return leg to take place the following weekend.
The Venoms will host the opening leg at St. Mary’s Stadium, Kitende before making the first trip to Sudan since their encounter with Hilal’s rivals El Merriekh in 2018.
Head coach Fred Kajoba is confident in the team and believes the time his charges have been preparing for the competition will help them revive their fortunes on the continent.
“It’s another great opportunity to revive our fortunes in this competition,” he told the club website. “We have what it takes to get past our opponents because the team has been at this level before and we have been preparing for this for many months. We have a good team and we believe that with determination and character, we shall get where want to be.”
Having knocked out El Merriekh in 2018 at the same round, assistant captain Geoffrey Wasswa feels they will be playing a more or less familiar opponent but it will take teamwork, commitment, and determination to progress.
“We have been there before and believe it will be a good experience facing our opponents in a familiar place. The teamwork, commitment, and determination are all we need to progress.”