CAF Confederation Cup: We are never scared of FC Diarra – Nations FC CEO

Nations FC chief executive officer Kennedy Boakye-Ansah says the Ghanaian club is ready to embrace the challenge of continental football after being drawn against Mali’s FC Diarra in the preliminary round of the 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup.

The FA Cup champions will travel to Bamako in September for the first leg, with the return fixture to be played in Ghana.

For Nations FC, the tie represents a new chapter for a club still finding its feet on the continental stage.

The club secured its place in the Confederation Cup after winning the MTN FA Cup last season, despite being relegated from the Ghana Premier League.

Their opponents, FC Diarra, are also a relatively young force in Malian football. The Bamako-based side finished fourth in the Malian Première Division last season and reached the Coupe du Mali final, where they were beaten by champions Djoliba.

Boakye-Ansah said Nations FC would approach the tie with confidence rather than fear.

“It’s going to be a very good experience in Africa, and Nations FC is quite a young club,” he told Luv FM.

“Though the team has been there for a very long time ever since we took over under the good leadership of Dr Kwame Kyei, we have made some gains.”

He acknowledged the disappointment of relegation but said the club’s FA Cup triumph had provided an opportunity to test itself against unfamiliar opposition.

“Unfortunately, there were some issues that came up, and that culminated in us getting relegated back to Division One,” he said.

“But just this morning, it was confirmed that we are going to play against another young team in Mali.”

Boakye-Ansah said he had already researched FC Diarra and was familiar with the conditions in Bamako, having visited the Malian capital twice.

“I’ve done my own background checks on FC Diarra, and they came out of an academy. They play at Stade Mamadou Konaté in Bamako,” he said.

“I have personally been to Bamako on two occasions, so I know how things work out there.”

The Nations FC chief executive believes the club can use the occasion to announce itself on the African stage.

“We are going to go out there, express ourselves, and make a bold statement for ourselves as well,” he said.

“No, we are never scared. We just have to play very well, so we’re never shaking at all.”

Despite the excitement surrounding the club’s first continental campaign, Boakye-Ansah is urging his players to resist the temptation to look too far ahead.

Nations FC would face either Niger’s AS Zam or Burkina Faso’s ASKO de Kara in the second preliminary round if they overcome FC Diarra.

But for now, the club’s attention is firmly on the first leg in Bamako.

“Let’s take it one game at a time. For now, the focus is on the first leg. But we will take it one game at a time,” he said.

For a club balancing the disappointment of Premier League relegation with the excitement of a first African adventure, the tie against FC Diarra offers Nations FC an opportunity to begin a new chapter on a much bigger stage.

Jamaldeen Wiayuka

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