Tunisia's Esperance decided not to attend the draw for the second round of the CAF Champions League.
The head of the club's football branch, Riad Bennour, said that the team will not attend the draw, which will be hosted by the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Wednesday.
And justified the decision - in a statement to official television - that his team did not attend the draw the past two seasons, and crowned the title on both occasions.
Bennour stressed that Esperance is not the most prominent candidate to win the current edition of the African Champions League, and said that his team is going through a reconfiguration phase after hiring a group of young players.
He refused to talk about a team that would prefer to face him in the quarter-finals, and said that all the qualified teams are strong and have a great history in the tournament.
Esperance will be in the quarter-finals, along with fellow coastal star and Al-Ahly and Egypt's Zamalek, and the Moroccan and Al-Wadda, Sun Dawns from South Africa, and Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The first leg matches of the quarter-finals will be held on February 28 and 29, and the return matches on March 6 and 7.