By RONALD CHAWE –
ZAMBIAN CAF envoys Zanaco and Zesco United will know their foes in the group phase of the Total CAF Champions League 2017 and Confederation Cup when the draws are conducted in Cairo, Egypt today.
Zanaco expect a tough draw after landing in pot four in the champions League while Zesco will avoid the big guns as they are one of the seeded teams in the Confederations Cup draw.
The draws scheduled for 14:00hours Egyptian time or 12:00 GMT will see Zanaco, Zambia’s flag carriers in the CAF Champions League face trick opponents based on the teams’ places in all the three pots.
Zanaco who are  in  pot four alongside  St. George (Ethiopia), Ferroviaro Bera (Mozambique) and CAPS United (Zimbabwe) draw either eight-time record winners  Al Ahly or  five- time winners Zamalek both from Egypt, who have been placed in Pot One.
Other teams in pot one who the Zambian champions could draw are Etoile Du Sahel (Tunisia) and current defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa.
Zanaco, who eliminated Young African of Tanzania on an away goal after a 0-0 draw at Heroes Stadium in Lusaka has no luxury of choice in pot two but to pick another tough opponent which comprises some of African giants in Al Hilal (Sudan), Esperance (Tunisia), Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, a team which managed to force a 2-2 draw, against Zesco United in last’s Champions League at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium, and USM Alger of Algeria.
The Numba Mumamba tutored side will be under pressure in this competition by trying to replicate Zesco United’s standout performances in which the Ndola based team managed to reach semi-finals of the continental show piece.
They may as well secure a trip to Sudan to face traditional giants Al Merriekh, Coton Sport
(Cameroon), neighbours AS Vita (DR Congo) and newcomers Al Ahli Tripoli of Libya in pot three.
In the second-tier continental club championship, Zesco United is expected to lead one of the four groups after being seeded first along TP Mazembe of Dr Congo, RUS Rabat (Morocco) and CS Sfaxien of Tunisia and that means the four clubs would avoid each other in a draw.
The rest of the 12 clubs have been placed in Pot 2, which means that all the teams in the pot could meet each other.
The Ndola based team is likely to land cup new comers Mbabane Swallows, who became the first club from Swaziland to make it into the group stage.
The other teams Zesco expected to face are Gabonese Side CF Mounana and Nigerian River United who qualified last after they beat Rayon Sport of Rwanda 2-0 at home before managing a 0-0 draw away.
The other teams in Pot 2 are Recreativo Do Libolo (Angola), MC Alger (Algeria), Horoya FC (Guinea), KCCA (Uganda), Club African (Tunisia), Smouha (Egypt), Sudan’s Al-Hilal Al-Ubayyid and South African pair of Platinum Stars and Super Sport United.