An African Champions League group stage spot, a glorious Yemenite derby from Israel, and the title battle of Botswana. Yallah, Let's go!
(All hours are in CET)
Amateur (Like this goalkeeper)
What? Stade Malien – ZESCO United (CAF Champions League)
When? Saturday, 20:00
Where? Stade Modibo Kéïta, Bamako
Why? Stade Malien was the African Champions League runner-ups in 1965 but never qualified for the top-8 since the introduction of the group stage. Their opponents, ZESCO United, participated in the 2009 group stage, the last Zambian team to so.
Key Players: Mamadou Coulibaly led Stade Malien to this stage with 3 goals and was part of runner-up national team squad in the African Nations Championship. In ZESCO United you can find Kondwani Mtonga that played also in the Indian Super League.
Fans Abroad: It's rare to find an African team with support from different continents, but ZESCO United has a fan club in Colombia. Sensacional!
Professional (like this goal)
What? Hapoel Marmorek – Maccabi Sha'arayim (Israeli Liga Alef)
When? Saturday, 20:00
Where? Haberfeld Stadium, Rishon LeZion
Why? The great derby of Rehovot city is one of the hottest football rivalries in Israel. Marmorek and Sha'arayim are two neighborhoods in Rehovot, who share the same origin. Both of them are populated by large Yemenite-Jewish communities. Maccabi Sha'arayim leads the table by 5 points and they are close to promotion for the first time since they were relegated from the second tier in 1993. Hapoel Marmorek is in the 4th place, trying to assure a playoff spot.
Key Players: Hapoel Marmorek’s main player is Sahar Shabtai, the team’s top scorer with 10 goals. Maccabi Sha'arayim has Gil Itzhak, who arrived in December and since then scored 8 goals in 15 matches.
The Oldies: Maccabi Sha'arayim might have one of the older squads in Israel, as in their last match half of the players were above 30 years old.
World Class (like this play)
What? Centre Chiefs – Township Rollers (Botswana Premier League)
When? Saturday, 20:00
Where? Botswana National Stadium, Gaborone
Why? Four games are left before the end of the season in Botswana and the title is on the stake for this match. Township Rollers are leading the table by 4 points ahead of Orapa United and their hosts for this match, Centre Chiefs. The Chiefs will try to close the gap on way to a 4th title in 5 years.
Key Players: Lemponye Tshireletso is the guy to watch in Centre Chiefs, as he is one of the best scorers in the league. From the other side, you can't run to the title without a great goalkeeper like Township Rollers' Kabelo Dambe, who’s also the Botswana national team goalkeeper.
Like Your Nickname: Botswana national team nickname is ‘Dipitse’, which means "The Zebras". In 2012 they launched a new kit with a black and white pattern.