Liberia’s second representatives on the continent football stage this year, ELWA United, has been drawn against Malian team AS Onze Createurs de Niarela in the Confederation of African Cup.

Unlike LISCR that has played at the continental level twice, ELWA United will be making its first ever appearance.

The Paynesville-based club booked a place in the competition after reaching the final of the FA Cup, which they lost to LISCR 3-0. After LISCR had won the league, which qualified them for the CAF Champions League before playing the FA Cup final, ELWA automatically got a place in the CAF Confederation Cup despite the defeat.

With no experience in continental football, ELWA will have a lot to do if they are to progress to the first round of the competition. The Malian side will only be making their second appearance on the continental stage, but their performance during their debut year was impressive.

The Malian side made their debut in the competition in 2015 with many surprising results until they got eliminated by Ivory Coast giants, ASEC Mimosas. They made headlines by crushing out Moroccan side, Renaissance Sportive de Berkane, in the preliminary round before repeating their brilliant display by eliminating Sahel SC of Niger. Their run ended in the second round after ASECS Mimosas achieved a back-to-back win.

The first leg of the preliminary rounds will be played between February 9-11, while the return leg will be played between February 16-18. ELWA United will play away at AS Onze in Mali before the final leg which will be held in Monrovia.
Besides the sensational LPRC Oilers, no Liberian team has been able to reach the group stage of any CAF Competition. In 1989, the Oil Boys reached not only the group stage but also the quarterfinals of the CAF Cup Winners’ Cup where they were eliminated by Kenyan Premier League club, Gor Mahia, 3-1 on aggregates.

Featured photo by T. Kla Wesley Jr.