On Sunday, November 22 at the New Amaan Complex in Zanzibar, Yanga will play their first match of the CAF Champions League (CAFCL) group stage when they face AS FAR, marking the opening fixture of Group B.
For Yanga’s Head Coach Pedro Goncalves, this will be his first international match in charge since taking over from Romain Folz, who led the team in the first three preliminary fixtures before Patrick Mabedi temporarily oversaw the crucial group-qualifying match against Silver Strikers.
Over the past three seasons in which Yanga have featured in the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, the club has struggled in its opening group-stage matches.
In the 2022/23 CAF Confederation Cup campaign, Yanga began with a 2-0 away defeat to US Monastir, but recovered in the following match with a 3-1 victory over TP Mazembe.
In the 2023/24 season, when Yanga returned to the Champions League group stage after 25 years, they also had a difficult start.
In that campaign, Yanga were drawn in Group D alongside Al Ahly—whom they are grouped with again this season in Group B. The two teams met in their opening match at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, which ended in a 1-1 draw after Pacome Zouzoua scored a late equalizer for Yanga.
After that match, Yanga traveled to Ghana where they drew 1-1 with Medeama, then secured a 3-0 home victory in the return leg at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
A convincing 4-0 win over CR Belouizdad later ensured that Yanga advanced to the quarterfinals, a run remembered for its dramatic and controversial ending when they were eliminated by Mamelodi Sundowns.
Last season (2024/25), the trend of poor starts continued as Yanga suffered a 2-0 defeat to Al Hilal in their opening home match at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium.
The team then traveled to Algeria, where they were beaten 2-0 by MC Alger. These back-to-back losses ultimately contributed to Yanga missing out on a quarterfinal spot after failing to win the decisive return fixture against MC Alger at home.
Because of this poor record at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium, Yanga have decided to host their home matches this season at the New Amaan Complex in Zanzibar.
Home matches hold crucial importance in the bid to secure a quarterfinal place. Goncalves’ main task is to ensure Yanga drops no points at home and erase the pattern of disappointing results seen in previous campaigns.
