Le Messager Ngozi Football Club, commonly referred to as Le Messager FC is a Burundian professional football club based in Ngozi, Ngozi Province of Burundi, that plays in Ligue A, the top division of Burundi football.
| Full name | Le Messager Ngozi Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 | ||
| Ground | Stade Urukundo Ngozi, Burundi | ||
| Capacity | 5,000[citation needed] | ||
| Chairman | Athanase Hatungimana | ||
| Manager | Jimmy Ndayizeye | ||
| League | Ligue A | ||
| 2023–24 | Ligue A, 6th of 16 | ||
| Website | http://www.lemessagerfc.org | ||
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Founded in 2005, Le Messager have won three league titles and one Burundian Cup. The club plays its home matches at 5,000 capacity Stade Urukundo.
History
editThe club was founded in 2005, when the late president Pierre Nkurunziza decided to set up “Le Messager” football academies.[1] Le Messager Ngozi had won promotion from the second division at the end of the 2011–12 season finished their first season in the top-flight of Burundi football, 2012–13, on the 5th place.[2]
In the 2013–14 season, Le Messager finished 4th in the league and reached the final of the Coupe du Président de la République losing 1–1 (3–4 on penalty shootout) to LLB Académic, qualifying for CAF Confederation Cup[3]
The following season saw again a fourth-place finish, as well as reaching the quarter-finals of the Coupe du Président de la République, losing 0–3 in front of Athlético Olympique.[4] Le Messager made their continental debut against Benfica de Luanda in the preliminary round of the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup, losing 0–3 on aggregate.
In 2016, the club won its first trophy, the Coupe du Président de la République, beating Vital'O 1–1 (4–3 on penalty shootout) in the final[5] and, also came out as runners-up in the 2015–16 Ligue A season.
In the following season, Le Messager finished sixth in Ligue A and returned to the Coupe du Président de la République final where they were defeated 1–2 by Olympic Star de Muyinga. In 2017 CAF Confederation Cup preliminary round, beat the Zanzibarian club KVZ 4–2 on aggregate,[6] advancing to the first round where they were eliminated by Zesco United (0–2 away and 2–2 home).[7]
Squad
editNote: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
edit- Burundi Ligue A
- Burundi Ligue B
- Winners (1): 2011–12
- Coupe du Président de la République
- Winners (1): 2016.
- Runners-up (2): 2014, 2017.
Performance in CAF competitions
edit| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | CAF Confederation Cup | Preliminary round |  Benfica de Luanda
|
0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 |
| 2017 | CAF Confederation Cup | Preliminary round |  KVZ
|
3–0 | 1–2 | 4–2 |
| First round |  ZESCO United
|
2–2 | 0–2 | 2–4 | ||
| 2018–19 | CAF Champions League | Preliminary round |  Ismaily
|
0–1 | 1–2 | 1–3 |
| 2020–21 | CAF Champions League | Preliminary round | Young Buffaloes
|
1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 (a) |
League history
edit- Burundi Ligue A: 2012–now
- Burundi Ligue B: 2005–2012
References
edit- ^ "La success-story de Messager Ngozi FC : tout sauf un hasard…" [The success story of Messager Ngozi FC: anything but coincidence…]. yaga-burundi.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.(in French)
- ^ "Burundi 2012/13". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 4 December 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Burundi 2013/14". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Coupe du Président de la République 2015". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 22 December 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Messenger Ngozi FC atoned for losing the league to Vital'O by beating them in the 2016 President Cup final on Saturday". soka25east.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "Burundi / CAF 2017 : Messager Ngozi 3 – 0 KVZ Zanzibar". burundi-agnews.org. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "Zesco eliminate determined Messager". cafonline.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
- ^ "Squad: First team". Le Messager Ngozi. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ Players, Le Messager Ngozi (22 October 2022). "Players". Owsports. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
External links
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