The Administrative Manager of Medeama Sporting Club, Patrick Akoto, says his club isn’t the only outfit under pressure to perform in the upcoming campaign following changes made to the format of the continental competitions by CAF.
Ahead of the 2023-2024 calendar, Africa’s football governing body (CAF) scraped a playoff game for teams eliminated from the Champions League.
In previous years, the playoff game gave teams eliminated from the Champions League a second chance to compete in Africa, as the winners would drop down to the Confederation Cup.
The move indirectly increases the pressure on teams to perform at a high level to avoid missing out on competing in an African tournament altogether.
Speaking to Citi Sports in an exclusive interview, Patrick Akoto says the pressure is on all teams competing in the tournament and not the Tarkwa-based side exclusively.
“It puts a lot of pressure on everybody, not only Medeama. It puts a lot of pressure on all the teams but, like I said, we are a very patient club. We are not getting ahead of ourselves, we know the challenges that we are facing and so we will go and do our best.”
Medeama SC takes on Nigeria’s Remo Stars in the first round of the Champions League on August 20 at the Cape Coast Stadium due to ongoing construction work at the TNA Stadium in Tarkwa.