Saint George are on the verge of becoming the first team from Ethiopia to reach the group stages of an African continental club competition.

The team from Addis Ababa beat visiting Egyptian side ENPPI 2-0 on Sunday in the first leg of their play-off match for the Confederation Cup group stages.

Shimeles Bekele opened the scoring for Saint George after just four minutes and Abebaw Butako added the second 22 minutes later.

Also on Sunday former African champions TP Mazembe had a comfortable 4-0 win over Mozambique's Liga Muculmana in Lubumbashi.

Africa Cup of Nations star Sunday Mba will adjust his sights to the Confederation Cup this weekend as the contest for group places begins.

Mba's Nigerian club side Enugu Rangers host two-time winners CS Sfaxien of Tunisia on Sunday in the highlight of eight first leg play-off fixtures.

The 24-year-old midfielder scored the only goal of the Cup of Nations final to give the Super Eagles victory over against Burkina Faso in Soweto last February.

He also struck the winner in the shock quarter-final triumph over hot pre-tournament favourites Ivory Coast in South Africa.

Moroccan rivals FUS Rabat and FAR Rabat have been drawn together in the Confederation Cup round of 16 play-off matches.

The pair, who share the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, will go head-to-head for a place in the group stage of African football's second-tier club competition.

The two-legged ties are made up of the eight winners from the Confederation Cup second round and the eight losers from the Champions League second round.

First legs will be played over the weekend of 15-17 May with the return matches taking place during the weekend of 31 May-2 June.

Goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa inspired Orlando Pirates to the group stages of the Orange Caf Champions League despite losing 1-0 to TP Mazembe in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Pirates go through by virtue of the superior goal aggregate, having beaten Mazembe 3-1 in the first leg played at the Orlando Stadium in Johannesburg.

Meyiwa saved two penalties to help a Pirates team that had skipper Lucky Lekgwathi sent off hold on till the final whistle.

The Buccaneers full-back Patrick Phungwayo was yellow carded in the 30th minute, setting the mood for what was a tense game

Bafana Bafana, Angola, champions Zimbabwe and hosts Zambia seeded and on first round byes in the May 3 COSAFA Cup draws.

And CECAFA zone nations Tanzania and Kenya have been invited to take part in this year’s COSAFA Cup to be held in Zambia from July 6-21.

According to Cosafa, Zambia, Bafana, Zimbabwe, Angola, Malawi and Mozambique will all enjoy group stage byes and join the competition in the quarterfinals on July 13 thanks to their FIFA rankings as of April 11, 2013.

Meanwhile, guest teams Tanzania and Kenya are the seeded teams in the group draws.

Eight teams will go into Fridays two group draws for preliminary round matches to be played at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka and Godfrey 'Ucar' Chitalu Stadium in Kabwe.

Title holders Ahly of Egypt kept Tunisian side Bizertin at bay to settle for a goalless away draw on Sunday in a CAF Champions League third round tie.

Only 1,500 fans were allowed to attend the game at Stade 15 Octobre due to security concerns, but the vociferous fans provided the only zeal in an otherwise dour game.

Ahly, who are seeking to win a record-extending eighth Champions League title, will be favourites to advance to the group stage when they host Bizertin in the second leg in a fortnight.

The game was preceded by riots in Bizerte after the Tunisian outfit were disqualified from the national league, a decision that led to clashes between their fans and police.

There are five former African champions among the 16 hopefuls entering the final qualifying round this weekend for the CAF Confederation Cup.

And FAR Rabat and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast, Etoile Sahel of Tunisia and Ismaily of Egypt are favoured to win two-leg ties and reach play-offs against CAF Champions League last-16 losers.

CS Sfaxien of Tunisia have also experienced continental glory, being the only club to successfully defend the Confederation Cup, the second-tier African club competition loosely modelled on the Europa League.

Also in action will be US Bitam of Gabon, who scored a record 17 goals in a preliminary tie, and Liga Muculmana of Mozambique, whose 7-1 thrashing of Nigerian visitors Lobi Stars in Maputo was totally unexpected.

With the Cosafa Senior Challenge coming back to action in July in Zambia the participating countries have confirmed that they will take part.

Cosafa has 14 members and they have all confirmed that they will travel to the 2012 Afcon Champions for the tournament.

The Cosafa Senior Challenge tournament has not been played in the past three years and Zambia will host the tournament in two areas, Lusaka and the Copperbelt from July 6-21, 2013.

A Cosafa delegation, led by COO Sue Destombes, was in Zambia last week to inspect facilities ahead of the competition. Cosafa approved Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka and Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola as the two host stadia for the tournament.

Libya staged a Caf club match for the first time since Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown as supporters watched hosts Al Nasr go out of the Confederation Cup after a 1-1 draw with FAR Rabat of Morocco.

The security-related ban on Libyan national teams and clubs playing at home was lifted last month after a four-day fact-finding mission by a Caf delegation to the oil-rich north African country.

Al Nasr from eastern city Benghazi were the first to benefit from the decision as they looked to overcome a 1-0 first-leg defeat by 2005 Confederation Cup winners FAR Rabat three weeks ago.

Mozambique international Simao Mate says he is looking forward to being part of a growing club after completing his move to Levante.

The 24-year-old signed a two-year contract with the Valencia-based side after parting ways with Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng earlier this year.

The defensive midfielder says he has been following the Granotes’ rise over the past two seasons and believes he will adapt easily to their playing style

"The president told me about the project and what they are trying to do with this club, I found it interesting and that’s the reason I chose Levante,” Simao told reporters.