Thousands of people at the Baba Yara stadium were left shocked by what they saw on Sunday. The score line read 3-0, but it was in favour of Zamalek, not Dreams FC
Dreams FC missed out on a place in the CAF Confederation Cup final.
But it was a campaign to be proud of#3SportsGH pic.twitter.com/ufgL4Kzwp8
— #3Sports (@3SportsGh) April 29, 2024
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Expectations were high for the second leg, especially after the Dawu-based side held the Egyptians to a goalless draw in Cairo. Unfortunately for all who gathered to support Dreams, they had to look on in shock as Zamalek dominated.
Dreams FC will no doubt be happy with their run though. As Abdul Karim Zito rightly said in his post-match presser, no one gave them a ‘dog’s chance’ to reach this point.
But Ghanaians wanted more and Ghanaian clubs also wanted more. Ghana were ranked 27th on the CAF five-year ranking at the beginning of the campaign. The ranking is a system set up by the Confederation of African football to gauge club performances in the last five years and reward their affiliate countries with the best-performing ones.
But after Medeama’s finish in the group stage and Dreams’ amazing run to the semis, Ghana earned 20 points from the ranking system, five points behind rivals Nigeria; the last country to have two slots each in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup.
If Dreams had gone on to eventually win the trophy, Ghana would have earned 30 points on the ranking, essentially securing two slots each in Africa’s two biggest club competitions.
A big chance has certainly been missed for Ghana football. It would be difficult to get another chance like this.