Enyimba and Rivers United are through to the next qualifying phase in their respective CAF Club competition involvement while Plateau United and Kano Pillars have crashed out.
In the 2019/20 Nigeria Professional League, Plateau United, Enyimba, Rivers United finished top three after the League Management Company employed a point per game system to conclude the season that was disrupted by COVID 19 pandemic.
The outcome meant, Plateau United the champions and Enyimba became Nigeria’s representatives at the CAF Champions League.
While Rivers United and Kano Pillars given the mandate to represent Nigeria in the second CAF Competition tier, which is the CAF Confederation Cup.
In the first leg, Kano Pillars who travelled to Senegal with 94-man contingent to face ASC Jaraaf were beaten 3-1 after scoring the first goal of the game.
They crashed out on 3-1 aggregate after failing to score any goal in the second leg which was played in Nigeria on Saturday.
The goalless draw was a rude shock to football betting fans, hence, Kano Pillars crashed out of the CAF Confederation Cup at the preliminary stage.
Similar fate befell, the ‘boardroom champions’ Plateau United who crashed out of the CAF Champions League competition in the preliminary stage.
In the first leg, Plateau United lost 1-0 at home to Simba of Tanzania and failed to overturn the deficit in the second leg as the game ended goalless in Tanzania.
But it was different stories for Enyimba International and Rivers United who got the job done and advanced into the first round.
Rivers United booked their places in the CAF Champions League first round after 2-0 penalty shootout win in PortHarcourt on Sunday.
They were unable to overturn the 2-1 first leg defeat to Futuro Kings of Equatorial Guinea but secured similar scoreline in the return leg for a 3-3 aggregate scoreline, hence, the reason for the shootout where Rivers United excelled.
Rivers United scored two of their four penalties while the Equatoguinean football club lost all four of their shootouts.
The Nigerian club now plays Bloemfontein Celtic of South Africa in the first round. The first leg would be played between 22–23 of December in South Africa while the return leg would be played in Nigeria between 5–6 of January 2021.
An aggregate win for Rivers United over the two legs puts them in the playoffs round where they would the losers of the Champions League first round.
Another win for them in the playoffs round puts Rivers United in the group stages of the 2020/21 CAF Confederations Cup.
The draw for the play-off round will be held on 17 January 2021.
For Enyimba, they ensured their hard fought 1-0 win in the first leg against Rahimo in Burkina Faso was not in vain as they played a 1-1 draw in the second leg to secure an aggregate 2-1 win against the Burkinabé football team.
Enyimba now have a tough task of beating Al Merrikh of Sudan in the first round for a place in the group stages.
The first leg would be played in Sudan between 22-23 of December while the return leg would be played in Nigeria between 5-6th of January 2021.
An aggregate win for Rivers United over the two legs put them straight in the group stages of the 2020/21 CAF Champions League.
While an aggregate defeat means, they have a chance of playing in the CAF Confederation Cup should they win in the playoff.
