Hamza Khabba of AS FAR celebrates qualifying to the final during the CAF Champions League 2025/26 2nd leg semifinal match between RS Berkane and AS FAR at Stade Municipal de Berkane in Berkane, Morocco on 18 April 2026 ©Nabil Ramdani/BackpagePix
Tuesday Apr 21, 2026. 11:00
AS FAR head coach Alexandre Santos has expressed his view that reaching the CAF Champions League final is proof they belong in the company of Africa’s best teams.
Al-Zaeem made history on Saturday when they beat Moroccan rivals RS Berkane 2-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals to book their place in the finale of Africa’s elite club competition for the first time.
The Rabat outfit will now face Mamelodi Sundowns in the decider, with the Brazilians making their second consecutive appearance after suffering heartbreak at the hands of Pyramids last year.
Santos gave credit to the Orange Boys, who ran out narrow 1-0 victors in the second leg at the Berkane Municipal Stadium, but came up just short, having lost 2-0 in the Moroccan capital seven days earlier.
“Renaissance Berkane has shown that it deserves to be in the final. This proves that Morocco has two very high-level clubs in the Champions League,” the Portuguese tactician told beIN Sports.
“It was a very difficult match, but we deserve this qualification. We tried to play, to push forward, to look for the goal. After conceding, we had to close down the spaces.
“We managed to stay compact, united and overcome all the difficulties. The team delivered a very good performance.”
AS FAR is the third club from Morocco to contest the CAF Champions League final after Raja Casablanca and Wydad Casablanca, the latter boasting two titles.