Last season, when Simba competed in the CAF Confederation Cup and advanced all the way to the final, the team set an impressive home record by winning all matches played at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium from the preliminary round onward.
The only home match Simba failed to win was the final against RS Berkane, which CAF relocated from Benjamin Mkapa to the New Amaan Complex. The match ended in a 1–1 draw after 90 minutes.
This season, Simba are back in the CAF Champions League, with head coach Dimitar Pantev now tasked with building on what Fadlu Davids achieved last season.
Drawn in Group D alongside Esperance, Petro Atletico, and Stade Malien, Simba will open their campaign at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on Sunday against Petro Atletico.
It is clear the match will not be easy—Petro de Luanda have returned much stronger this season after an unstable campaign last year—but victory remains the only acceptable result for Simba at home.
The club’s strategy is to win all three home matches and collect at least two points away, reaching 11 points—or even 10 points—which statistically should be enough to secure a place in the quarterfinals.
After guiding Simba through the group stage last season, Pantev now faces his second major test: leading the team to the quarterfinals.
For Simba fans, the quarterfinals are considered just the first milestone—the real yearning is to finally see Simba progress beyond that stage, where they have fallen short for several seasons in the Champions League.
