Bibiani Gold Stars ready for CAF Confed Cup test against JSK

History-maker Stephen Frimpong Manso has vowed that Bibiani Gold Stars will be battle-ready when they face Algerian heavyweights Jeunesse Sportive de Kabylie (JSK) in the opening round of the 2025/26 CAF Champions League.

The preliminary draw, conducted in Cairo last week, handed Ghana’s champions perhaps the toughest possible assignment – a clash with Algeria’s most successful club and two-time African champions.

Victory would set up a second-round meeting with either Sierra Leone’s East End Lions or Tunisia’s US Monastir, the final hurdle before the lucrative group stage.

For Gold Stars, who stunned Ghanaian football by clinching the Premier League crown last season in just their third top-flight campaign, the encounter represents a daunting baptism of fire.

Yet their coach, a former Ghana international, is relishing the challenge and plotting another historic milestone.

“Yes, it’s a very tough draw because JSK is a very strong side in the CAF Champions League. We need to plan and prepare very well,” Frimpong Manso told the Graphic Sports in an exclusive interview.

Gold Stars will host the first leg in Bibiani between 19 and 21 September before travelling to Algeria for the decisive return a week later.

With the odds heavily stacked against his side, Frimpong Manso is drawing confidence from their recent domestic battles and insists the team’s fighting spirit will carry them through.

He points to upcoming fixtures in the GHALCA Top 4 tournament – where they will lock horns with fellow continental contenders Asante Kotoko, Kpando Heart of Lions, and Accra Hearts of Oak – as crucial preparation.

The Ghana Super Cup, which will serve as the traditional curtain-raiser to the season, is also part of his strategy to sharpen the squad ahead of the continental showdown.

“The GHALCA Top 4 and the Super Cup will help us in our preparation towards our match with JSK. At the moment, we are looking at the first game,” the coach explained.

For Frimpong Manso, who guided Gold Stars to their fairytale title triumph, this Champions League campaign is another chance to etch his name into Ghanaian football folklore.

Taking on a club with JSK’s pedigree – a side that has dominated Algerian football and left an indelible mark on the African stage – will test every ounce of his squad’s resilience.

But the coach insists his players will not be overawed. “This is what we worked for by winning the league. Now we must prove that Gold Stars can also compete at this level,” he said.