Burundi’s Premier League side, Aigle Noir CS will spice up the Mapinduzi Cup 2023 slated to take place January 1-13th in Zanzibar.
Aigle Noir CS who are currently placed 5th on the Burundi Premier League log are the only guest side invited for the Mapinduzi Cup which will attract 12 teams.
The Mapinduzi Cup 2023 will kick-off with a match involving Zanzibar Premier League sides Mlandege SC and KVZ on January 1st, 2023.
The Burundi team is placed in Group D alongside Namungo SC (Tanzania) and a team from Zanzibar Chipukuzi FC.
Bessora Albert Samson, Aigle Noir CS’ Spanish coach has also made it clear that the tournament in Zanzibar will be a good ground to give the team exposure.
“Playing against teams from another country will help test our team and also prepare for other League matches back in Burundi,” said the coach.
The tournament organized by the government of Zanzibar together with the Zanzibar Football Federation (ZFF) is played to commemorate Zanzibar’s Revolution day which is marked annually.
Simba SC, the 2022 champions will open their campaign with a match against Mlandege on January 3rd. Young Africans SC, the Tanzania Premier League reigning champions, will be in action on January 4th against KMKM SC in a Group C clash.
Juma Mgunda, the Simba SC caretaker coach who guided the team to qualify for the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League made it clear that playing in the Mapinduzi Cup comes at the right time to get his team in shape. “We are going to defend the title and that will call for a lot of work,” added the coach.
Young Africans SC, the reigning Tanzania Premier League champions who also qualified for the group stage of the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup will be out to try and recapture the title they won in 2021.
But their head coach Nasreddine Nabi has made it clear that he might rest some of his players who have played most of the matches throughout the season.
Group A: Azam FC, Malindi SC, Jamhuri SC
Group B: Young Africans, Singida BS, KMKM SC
Group C: Simba SC, Mlandege SC, KVZ SC
Group D: Namungo SC, Aigle Noir CS, Chipukizi FC
