African Stars relishing CAF challenge

African Stars Football Club have their sights set on doing well in the preliminary rounds of the Confederations of African Football (CAF) Champions League. The Namibia Premier League Champions has been pitted against Vipers SC of Uganda in the first preliminary round of the competition. The club is eager to perform well and advance to the next preliminary stage of the competition, with hopes of eventually making it to the group stages for the first time. Team manager Andrew Tjahikika confirmed that the team started with preparations even before the draw was conducted.“We are indeed excited to be once again part of this competition and we want to perform much better than before. “I can confirm that our preparations started about three weeks ago and the spirit in the camp is high. “Yes, we have been drawn against a Ugandan side, which is not the first time we are playing opponents of that country,” Tjahikika said. He added that the team has already done some research and homework over their opponents and are not rattled by the draw. The team manager confirmed that African Stars have retained 80 percent of the player squad from the previous season, while also trying a few new potential signings, which he is unable to disclose for now. The first leg of the preliminary rounds will be played between 19-21 September, while the second leg of the competition is slated for 26-28 September. The club also revealed that there could be a chance that they will play their home match at the Hage Geingob Stadium upon inspection or will alternatively use a venue in Botswana as their home stadium. Pre-season African Stars will this week embark on a journey to South Africa where they will play Upington City FC. “This match will be part of our preparations for the big preliminary matches and a trip to Upington will give the players an insight on how they will have to perform at a bigger level. “Look, we know how Uganda teams play and that will be an advantage to us and that is why we are preparing hard for those matches,” Tjahikika remarked. Tournament The club will then host a four-club pre-season tournament during the weekend of 23-24 August. “This is also a tournament which will help us to get the team ready for the CAF Champions League preliminaries. “We will have three clubs – from Angola, Congo and Lesotho – visiting us for the tournament which is expected to be played at the Independence Stadium.” The participating clubs will be Petro Atletico of Luanda, AS Maniema Union of Congo, Lioli Football Club of Lesotho and the host African Stars. Proud historyAfrican Stars qualified to the CAF Champions League preliminary rounds after winning the Debmarine Namibia Premiership with 58 points. African Stars first won the league in 1994 and then again in the 2008-09 season, before also successfully defending it the next campaign.It took Stars another four years before they were once again crowned champions of the premiership in the 2014-15 season.The Windhoek-based club then went on to lift the title again in the 2017-18, 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.

African Stars relishing CAF challenge

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-14

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African Stars relishing CAF challenge

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Namibian Sun 2025-08-14

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