Former Super Eagles and Shooting Stars of Ibadan goalkeeper, David Aigbovo, has described as ‘sad’ the failure of ‘Oluyole Warriors’ to go past the first round in their 2026 CAF campaign.
 
Only two Nigerian clubs survived the first round of CAF inter-club competitions as Shooting Stars FC of Ibadan and Rivers United fell by the wayside at the weekend, while Rangers of Enugu and El-Kanemi Warriors advanced.
 
Aigbovo, who was part of Shooting Stars FC that won the maiden CAF Cup in 1992, told The Guardian yesterday that he expected 3SC to stay longer in the race, having been absent from the continental scene for 27 years.
 
“I felt so sad when the news of 3SC’s early elimination came,” Aigbovo said. “In 1992, we got it right by winning the maiden CAF Cup because of the solid foundation we laid between 1990 and 1991. But things have since changed in Shooting Stars after people said: “The club is for our children.’ That was when everything went wrong in Shooting Stars.
 
“Again, I feel that the management of 3SC did not recruit the right people for the CAF assignment. To me, the State Governor, Seyi Makinde, is doing well. If 3SC management had done the right thing and presented the budget to the Governor for approval, he would have done so. As I said, the early exit of Shooting Stars from the 2026 CAF assignment is very sad,” Aigbovo stated.

Shooting Stars travelled to Tunisia with a 1-0 advantage over CS Sfaxien after the opening leg in Abeokuta.
 
However, the advantage disappeared in Tunisia as Sfaxien struck twice without reply to record a 2-0 victory and advance 2-1 on aggregate.
 
The result brought a painful end to Shooting Stars’ first continental campaign in 27 years, despite entering the decisive second leg with qualification firmly in their hands.
 
Rivers United also suffered heartbreak in the CAF Champions League.
 
The Port Harcourt side had secured an encouraging 1-1 draw away to San Pedro in Côte d’Ivoire in the opening leg, placing themselves in a promising position ahead of the return fixture in Nigeria.
 
But San Pedro stunned their hosts by racing into a two-goal advantage. Rivers United responded with a determined fightback, scoring two penalties to get a 2-2 draw, but their recovery ultimately proved insufficient as the Ivorian side secured passage to the next round on the away goals rule.
 
The weekend therefore leaves Nigeria with only two clubs still standing on the continent.
 
The Flying Antelopes, Rangers FC, produced the most dramatic qualification of the Nigerian contingent, overcoming Benin Republic champions, AS Sobemap 5-4 on penalties in Lome after another 1-1 draw left their CAF Champions League preliminary-round tie locked at 2-2 on aggregate.
 
Rangers had been held to a 1-1 draw in the opening leg in Abeokuta and travelled to Lome knowing there was little margin for error.
 
The Enugu side again took the lead in the return encounter, but Sobemap responded in the second half to restore parity and eventually force the contest into a penalty shootout.
 
The Nigerian champions initially missed their first kick in the shootout but recovered impressively, converting their next five attempts while Sobemap failed with two of theirs as Rangers prevailed 5-4.
 
The reward for Rangers is a significantly tougher assignment against Algerian champions MC Alger in the second and final preliminary round of the Champions League.
 
MC Alger booked their place after eliminating Niger’s ASN Nigelec 5-0 on aggregate, setting up a major test for Rangers in their battle to reach the lucrative group stage.
 
While Rangers survived a nerve-shredding shootout, El-Kanemi Warriors progressed in contrasting circumstances despite suffering defeat in their second leg.
 
The Maiduguri side lost 0-1 away to UDIB of Guinea-Bissau, but their commanding 3-0 advantage from the first leg proved sufficient to send them through 3-1 on aggregate.