Laayoune/Africa: Moroccan Clubs off to good start at 45th African Handball Champions Club Championship

Moroccan handball club Wydad Smara defeated over the weekend Ethiopia’s Mechal Handball Sport Club (40-18) at the 45th African Champions Club Championship taking place in Moroccan Saharan city of Laayoune.

Mountada Derb Sultan (Morocco) also beat Ethiopian club Krikos 38-12, while Raja Agadir (3rd Moroccan club participating in the tournament) secured a 21-21 draw against Don Bosco of Ivory Coast.

Egyptian clubs Al Ahly and Zamalek and Etoile of Congo have qualified for the quarter-finals of the championship gathering 16 men’s teams and 11 women’s teams vying for Laayoune Trophy.

In the men’s competition, host country is taking part with three teams like Ethiopia, while Egypt, Congo, Cameroon and Benin are represented each by two teams. Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal have sent each one team to Laayoune.

The top two teams in each of the 4 groups will advance to the quarter-finals, where the top side in each group will face a second-placed side from another group.

In the women’s category, 11 clubs have been drawn in three groups: the first includes Primeiro (Angola), FAP (Cameroon), Abidjan HBC (Ivory Coast) and Sahel Women’s Sports Association (Tunisia).

The 2nd group gathers Al Ahly (Egypt), AS Otoho (Congo) and FLOWERS CNSS (Benin), while Petro (Angola), Andre Nziko (Cameroon) AS Nouasser (Morocco) and Peacocks (Nigeria) have been drawn in group 3.