Steve Biko withdraw from CAF Champions League

Gambia's Steve Biko FC

Gambia’s First Division champions Steve Biko have withdrawn from the 2014 CAF Champions League after deciding they don’t have the finances to mount a serious campaign.

Biko were given a baptism of fire after they were handed a trip to Algeria in what was supposed to be their first Champions League appearance.

Coach Abdoulie Bojang’s men were drawn against Entente Sportive de Sétif in the preliminary round of Africa’s most prestigious and lucrative club competition with the first leg scheduled for this weekend in Sétif.

Even though CAF rewards clubs who make it to the group stage of the competition, Gambian clubs have not been that far since the competition started.

Biko have now confirmed that they don’t have a side that can reach such a round this season and has withdrawn due to ‘financial constraints’.

Biko’s opponents, ES Sétif confirmed their participation in the competition, defying the Algerian Football Federation’s “recommendation” for clubs to withdraw from African competition.

The president of the Algerian FA, Mohamed Raouraoua, had suggested to Algerian clubs to withdraw from African competition for a pre-determined period of time because the conditions ‘were not ideal’ for the clubs to compete in the competitions.

Biko won the Gambian First Division competition last season after a thrilling neck-and-neck race with Real de Banjul but have looked out of sorts at the start of this current campaign, picking up just two points out of a maximum twelve, scoring only one goal in the process.

CAF regulations stipulate that any club withdrawing from a competition is automatically banned for three years, effectively depriving Biko a chance to compete in continental competition until 2017.