CAFCC: Ibengé says Azam FC’s main target is to reach group stages

Azam FC head coach Florent Ibengé has revealed their target is to reach the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup as they prepare to face South Sudanese Premier League champions Al Merreikh FC in the return leg fixture at Chamazi Stadium on Sunday.

The Ice Cream Makers will head into the fixture carrying a 2-0 advantage gained from the first leg at Juba International Stadium. Goals from Fei Toto and Jephte Kitambala were enough for Azam to win the away game ahead of the return leg.

“We want to go to the group stage”

Speaking ahead of the fixture, the Congolese tactician maintained that the target for the Tanzanian Premier League side is to reach the group stages of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) competition.

“We are not going to take this game lightly, we are going to play like it was the first one, we want to qualify but we all know football is curious, so we have everything to play our best football in order not to have a surprise at the end of the game,” Ibengé told Pan-Africa Football.

“Our mission tomorrow (Sunday) is very clear, we want to qualify and if you remember well, before this game I said that qualification will be done in Chamazi, so for now it is not finished, we are going to play very seriously, and I don’t think we will underrate our opponents.”

Azam working hard to achieve goal

Ibengé added: “We did a good job in the first game, and so we have to finish the good job at home. We are working hard because our target is to reach group stages, so really we are working harder for that because, if we are comfortable and play football without thinking about the result, then I believe we will make it to the second round.”

He concluded: “We have to work hard and put into mind what we want to achieve, we want to go to the group stages and must be serious about that.”