African powerhouses collide in the 45th CAHB Men's and Women's African Club Championship
09 Oct. 2024
The 45th edition of the CAHB Men's and Women's African Club Championship will take place between 10 and 19 October, in Laâyoune, Morocco, with 16 men’s teams and 11 women’s teams at the start.
Two of the three most decorated clubs in the men’s competition, Egyptian powerhouses Al-Ahly – the reigning champions – and Zamalek SC, which have also donned the court at the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship, will be at the start, with Zamalek being the most decorated team in the history of the competition, with 12 tiles, while Al Ahly have won the title six times.
In the men’s competition, 16 teams will line up at the start, with three teams from Ethiopia and Morocco each, two teams from Egypt, Congo, Cameroon and Benin and one team from Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal.
In Group A, Al Ahly, the team which finished third at the 2024 IHF Men’s Club World Championship and beat FC Barcelona in the bronze medal match, will face two sides from Congo, Étoile du Congo and Centre de Formation de la Jeunesse Sportive de Ouénzé (CFJSO), plus Ethiopian side Mekelle.
In Group C, Zamalek SC are due to face one of the Moroccan sides, Mountada, as well as Cameroonian side Friendship and Ethiopian side Kirikos. Another former winner of the competition, Cameroonian side Forces Armées et Police Yaoundé play in Group B, alongside Moroccan side Raja Casablanca, Don Bosco from Cote d’Ivoire and Benin side Flowers.
The top two teams in each group will progress to the quarter-finals, where the top side in each group will face a second-placed side from another group.
The women’s competition has been won by an Angolan team in the last 25 editions and the two powerhouses which have secured those wins, Petro Atlético and Primeiro de Agosto, will be lining up at the start of the competition once again.
While Petro Atlético are the most decorated team in the history of the African premium competition, with 19 titles, they have lost the last four finals against Primeiro de Agosto, the team which won the last eight titles on the trot.
The two Angolan sides will be joined by two teams from Cameroon and one from Cote d’Ivoire, Tunisia, Congo, Benin, Morocco and Nigeria each, as the 11 sides have been divided into three groups, two of four teams each and one of three sides.
The top two sides in each group, plus the third placed side in the four-team groups will progress to the quarter-finals, with Petro Atlético and Primeiro de Agosto being the prime favourites to challenge for the title once again.
In Group A, reigning champions Primeiro de Agosto are facing Cameroonian side Forces Armées et Police Yaoundé, Abidjan HC from Cote d’Ivoire and Tunisian side ASF Handball. Group C will be headlined by Petro Atlético, which are playing against Cameroonian side Andre Nziko, Moroccan side US Nouasser and Nigerian side Peacocks.
The remaining three teams – Egyptian side Al-Ahly, AS Otoho from Congo and Benin’s Flowers – are due to play in Group B.