Monrovia – The Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex, Liberia’s spiritual home of football, will come alive on Saturday, September 20, when Liberia’s league champions FC Fassell host Algerian powerhouse MC Alger in the first leg of the CAF Champions League preliminary first-round clash.
By: Christopher C. Walker 0777898224/0886723075 [email protected]
Fresh from a month-long training camp in Egypt, the “Soccer Missionaries” are heading into continental action under the leadership of CEO and President Anthony Cassell Kuoh With an experienced coach, a multinational squad, and a growing fan base.
Fassell has raised the bar for Liberian club football with stickers and posters across Monrovia reflecting the anticipation for what promises to be an epic showdown.
Saturday’s game is expected to draw a massive crowd, with fans hoping Fassell can seize the advantage before traveling to Algeria.
But history shows the task will be daunting. North Africa has long been a difficult hunting ground for Liberian clubs. Only Invincible Eleven (IE) ever managed a positive result away, a 0–0 draw against Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces on May 8, 1988.
The last time a North African club won in Monrovia was April 26, 1988, when Royal Armed Forces edged IE 1–0 at the SKD.
Over the past years Liberian clubs have had home wins over North African opposition.
The last time a North African club played at the SKD was on March 22, 1990, when Mighty Barrolle defeated Raja Casablanca 2–1 in the return leg of the CAF Champions League, after losing the first leg 2–0 in Morocco.
On March 20, 2016 two late goals from Barrack Young Controllers II could not help the club secure qualification to the next round of the CAF Confederation Cup Preliminary Rounds at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium on Sunday.
The Liberian side put up a spirited performance to defeat their classic opponents Kawkab Marrakech of Morocco 2-0 in the presence of Chief Patron of Sport President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf however BYC II bowed out 3-2 on aggregate.
Monrovia Club Breweries for her beat the Algerian football club JS Kabylie 3-0 in February 2017 during the first leg of a CAF Confederations Cup preliminary round match at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia.
The Beer Boys however lost away in the return leg 4-0 which eliminated them from the competition.
In 2019 Liberia FC secured a 1-0 home win over Algerian club USM Bel Abbes in the return leg of their CAF Confederation Cup preliminary match at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium.
LISCR lost the first-leg 4-0 away from home in Algeria.
Liberian clubs however have found it difficult to qualify over North African clubs in CAF competitions despite Liberian clubs’ home wins they have not qualified over North African teams and Fassell is desperate to break that barrier.
For CEO Cassell Kuoh, Fassell’s target this season is clear to reach the Group Stage, a feat no Liberian club has ever achieved.
That means eliminating two opponents across four matches in a 360-minute battle that could write history.
The club has already received US$20,000 from the Liberia Football Association for winning the domestic league, and CAF is set to present another US$100,000 for their participation in the elite competition.
MC Alger arrived with pedigree as one of Africa’s most respected clubs. But debutants Fassell, regarded as dark horses, are determined to leave a lasting impression in the 61-year-old competition, which was rebranded in 1997 to introduce the lucrative group stage.
This isn’t Fassell’s first continental appearance.
In 2015, they featured in the CAF Confederation Cup but were eliminated by Guinea’s Horoya AC, playing their “home” games in Mali due to the Ebola crisis. Now, for the first time, they host at the SKD and the nation waits eagerly to see if the “Soccer Missionaries” can rise to the occasion.
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