Soccer-Holders Al Ahly to meet Sundowns in Champions League last eight again

Record African Champions League winners Al Ahly will face South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns in the quarter-finals for a third successive season after the draw was made in Cairo on Friday.

The clash also pits Pitso Mosimane, the coach of holders Ahly, against his former club in an already-tense rivalry South African Mosimane left Sundowns in September to join the Cairo giants, whose nine Champions League triumphs are more than all the titles of the other quarter-finalists together.

Mosimane led Sundowns to 2016 Champions League success and in 2019 was at the helm when the Pretoria club handed Al Ahly their heaviest defeat in more than 80 years, as they beat them 5-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final tie. Sundowns advanced at the expense of the Egyptians but then lost in the semis.

Last season Ahly gained a measure of revenge by beating Sundowns 3-1 on aggregate, again in the last eight, just before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hiatus that followed led to the departure of their Swiss coach Rene Weiler and the hiring of Mosimane, who just weeks after his arrival saw Ahly to last season's title when the competition was belatedly completed in October and November.

The quarter-final draw for the continent's secondary competition, the African Confederation Cup, was also conducted on Friday. African Champions League quarter-final draw: Al Ahly (Egypt) v Mamelodi Sundowns (South Africa) Mouloudia Alger (Algeria) v Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) Chabab Belouizdad (Algeria) v Esperance (Tunisia) Kaizer Chiefs (South Africa) v Simba (Tanzania) African Confederation Cup quarter-final draw: CS Sfaxien (Tunisia) v JS Kabylie (Algeria) Orlando Pirates (South Africa) v Raja Casablanca (Morocco) Pyramids (Egypt) v Enyimba (Nigeria) Coton Sport (Cameroon) v Diaraf Dakar (Senegal) Teams mentioned first play at home in the first leg.

Quarter-final ties will be played on May 14-15 and May 21-22. The semi-finals are set for June 18-19 and June 25-26. The Confederation Cup final will be on July 10 and the Champions League final on July 17.

The venues for the finals have yet to be determined by the Confederation of African Football. (Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ken Ferris and Toby Davis)