The pensioners kick starts their CAF Confederations Cup Group Stage campaign this evening as they take on defending Champions RS Berkane of Morocco in a match set for Stade De Municipal De Berkane in Morocco.
This will be a great experience for the Club and most of the NAPSA Stars players who get to show case their skill playing at a high level of football for the first time.
And despite doubts from most football fans that NAPSA Stars FC could reach this far in the competition and being competition debutants, Mohamed Fathi has believed in his boys from the first game, defining all odds and eliminating three teams before reaching this stage.
It has been one game at a time to reach their set target for this Pensioners side which has managed to eliminate teams like Ngazi Sport, UD DO Songo and Gor Mahia FC in the Preliminary Round, First Round and Pre-Group Stage respectively.
Today the Pensioners face even a bigger test as they take on defending Champions RS Berkane after being drawn in Group B with Cotton Sport of Cameroon and JS Kabaye of Algeria.
Coach Mohamed Fathi has assembled his strong side that travelled to Morocco on Saturday for this date against RS Berkane.
Despite undergoing a long journey to the North which only saw the team arrive in the earliest hours of Monday (midnight), the Pensioners have set base in Oujda, and are looking confident to kick start their Group Stage campaign.
“We have a tough game ahead of us, but every game is different and we are still trying to make history for us and for the country so we are working hard to make this possible,” Head Coach Mohamed Fathi says in his pre-match interview.
The Coach adds that his team is not panicking facing a North African side, stressing that he has prepared his boys both mentally and physically ahead of this game.
And captain of the side Dickson Chapa says the team is looking at starting the Group Stage on a high note and will be looking at victory in this match.
“We have come here to fight and collect maximum points, we want to start on a high note since we are playing away from home,” Chapa says.
The match has been set for 20h00 local time, (21h00 Zambian time).