The 40th edition of the Men's and Women's African Club Cup Winners Championships took place in Oran, Algeria, between 18 and 28 April, with 12 men’s teams taking part in the competition and eight women’s teams fighting for the coveted title.

In the men’s competition, the 12 teams were divided into four groups of three teams each, with two teams from Egypt, four from Algeria, two from Congo and one from Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Tunisia and DR Congo fighting for the title.

The top two sides in each group progressed to the main round and, subsequently, the best two sides in each main round group qualified for the semi-finals and those four teams were Egyptian powerhouses Zamalek and Al-Ahly, plus Tunisian side Esperance de Tunis and one of the four Algerian sides, JSE Skida.

With Egyptian powerhouses Zamalek and Al-Ahly having previously met in the CAHB African Super Cup final before the start of the Men's African Club Cup Winners Championships, the two were favourites to face off for another trophy here, but the semi-finals produced a huge shock.

While Zamalek kept their side of the bargain, with a 30:26 win over JSE Skida, Al-Ahly, the winners of the CAHB African Super Cup, failed to meet their standards in the semi-final against Esperance de Tunis, conceding a 21:25 loss, with their chance for the fifth title in history gone.

Yet another Egyptian powerhouse awaited in the final, but Esperance de Tunis produced another fantastic display, taking a 16:11 lead at the break. As Hazem Becha, Oussama Boughanmi and Bilel Abdelli combined for 18 goals, Esperance cruised to a 30:25 win, lifting the trophy.

It was Esperance’s fourth title in the history of the Men's African Club Cup Winners Championship and the first one for a Tunisian side since 2019, as well as the first for Esperance since 2015, when they won the title against Al-Ahly.

In the bronze medal match, Al-Ahly took a clear 37:28 win against JSE Skida, securing their maiden bronze medal in history, after playing the final 11 times in their history.

The women’s competition saw eight teams line up at the start, which were divided into two groups of four teams each, with a different system played. All sides progressed to the quarter-finals, but the winners of the groups faced the fourth-placed side in the other group, gaining a significant advantage on their way to silverware.

Two teams from Angola, Congo and Algeria each, plus a team from Cote d’Ivoire and Egypt faced off, and for the fourth time in the last five editions, it was a 100% Angolan final, between the two powerhouses of the continent, Primeiro de Agosto and Petro Atletico de Luanda.

The two sides had previously met in the CAHB African Super Cup, where Primeiro secured a 31:28 win, and this time around they also faced off in the final, with Primeiro stopping the two-title winning streak for Petro Atletico.

In the semi-finals, Petro Atletico secured a hard-fought 24:19 win over Egyptian side Al-Ahly, while Primeiro clinched a 31:11 win against Congo’s AS Otoho, setting up a mouthwatering final.

Another hard-fought final ensued, with Petro Atletico leading the way at the break, 10:5, only for Primeiro to mount a fantastic comeback and tie the score, 19:19, as the match went to extra-time, where they secured a 23:22 win, with an excellent contribution to Jose Machado, the Player of the Match.

This was Primeiro’s fifth title in history, after winning it in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.