Horoya AC booked their place in the CAF Champions League group stage by beating Al Merreikh 5-3 on penalties on Saturday 24 October 2026 in Kigali.
Horoya AC are back in the CAF Champions League group stage. On Saturday 24 October 2026 in Kigali, the Guinean club saw off Sudan’s Al Merreikh after a penalty shootout won 5-3, according to ledjely. The outcome gives the Guinean champions a return to this level of the competition, four years after their last appearance, in 2022.
Yet it had all gone down to the wire. Winners 1-0 in the first leg in Conakry, the Guinean club saw Al Merreikh wipe out their deficit in the return, losing 1-0 in regulation time. The two sides therefore had to be separated by a penalty shootout, an exercise the Red and Whites completed without a single miss.
A perfect record from twelve yards
Horoya AC converted every one of their attempts, the decisive penalty sealing a 5-3 scoreline for the Red and Whites, ledjely reports.
This scenario capped a two-legged tie that stayed in the balance right to the end. In the first leg, the Guineans had won 1-0 in Conakry. In the return, they could not hold on to that advantage, suffering a 1-0 defeat that forced them into the penalty shootout.
A return four years in the making
This qualification ends four years of absence from this level for the Guinean champions, whose last appearance dates back to 2022. Horoya AC also guarantee Guinea at least one representative in the interclub group stage this season.
For their part, Al Merreikh exit the Champions League at the second preliminary round. The return leg was played outside Sudan, in Rwanda, because of the security situation in the country, ledjely reports.
The draw in their sights
Attention now turns to the CAF Champions League group stage draw, which CAF is due to hold shortly. Horoya AC will learn their group-stage opponents there.