ORLANDO Pirates will have to get past the formidable TP Mazembe Englebert if they are to reach the group phase of the African Champions League, handing a major hurdle to South African hopes in the continent's top club competition.
Pirates' route to the last eight of the competition, where clubs chase a R13-million first prize and a place at the Club World Cup, has been laid out in the belated release of the draw for the 2013 competition by the Confederation of African Football.
Bucs start with a potential stroll against tiny island amateurs from the Comoros, then play either Zambian or Swazi opposition in the second round. If they get through that, they will, in all likelihood, meet the formidable, big-spending side from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is a tough draw for Pirates in their bid to claim some pan-African glory for the country after more than a decade of failure for South African clubs in continental competition.
SuperSport have also been a handed tough ride in the African Confederation Cup.
They start against CS Don Bosco, who like Mazembe are from Lubumbashi. If they get through that they will play Petro Atletico of Angola, and if they progress further into the third round, they will likely be up against Egyptian opposition.
The draw for the first three rounds is traditionally made in a tennis-style format. The next draw is in May for the group stages.
Pirates start against the unknown Djabal FC from the Comoros Islands, which has only been a Fifa member for the past eight years
Pirates are at home in the first leg on the weekend of February 16-17, one week after the end of the Nations Cup. They go away to the island of Grande Comore on March 2 or 3.
Pirates should have little difficulty advancing, where Zanaco of Zambia will probably lie in wait in the second round in March and April.
Zanaco won the league on the last day of the season in Zambia last month and have now taken six titles over the past decade. Their side is coached by Keegan Mumba, who has already told reporters Zanaco will "do our best to make our country proud" in the 2013 Champions League.
Mazembe, who were African champions in 2009 and 2010, are owned by Moise Katumbi, the governor of the copper-rich Katanga province who seems to have a limitless piggy bank to fund his side.
The team includes five members of the Zambia squad that won the last Nations Cup plus a bevy of Congolese internationals and they reached the semifinals of the Champions League this year, narrowly going out to Esperance of Tunisia.
Mazembe are the only African side to have reached the Club World Cup final, when Inter Milan beat them in the deciding game in Abu Dhabi two years ago.
Six Mazembe players are training with the Congo national side in Port Elizabeth. Presumably they will use the opportunity to spy on Pirates, who are in the Windy City on Friday to take on Maritzburg United.
Pirates could face Mazembe
ORLANDO Pirates will have to get past the formidable TP Mazembe Englebert if they are to reach the group phase of the African Champions League, handing a major hurdle to South African hopes in the continent's top club competition.
Pirates' route to the last eight of the competition, where clubs chase a R13-million first prize and a place at the Club World Cup, has been laid out in the belated release of the draw for the 2013 competition by the Confederation of African Football.
Bucs start with a potential stroll against tiny island amateurs from the Comoros, then play either Zambian or Swazi opposition in the second round. If they get through that, they will, in all likelihood, meet the formidable, big-spending side from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It is a tough draw for Pirates in their bid to claim some pan-African glory for the country after more than a decade of failure for South African clubs in continental competition.
SuperSport have also been a handed tough ride in the African Confederation Cup.
They start against CS Don Bosco, who like Mazembe are from Lubumbashi. If they get through that they will play Petro Atletico of Angola, and if they progress further into the third round, they will likely be up against Egyptian opposition.
The draw for the first three rounds is traditionally made in a tennis-style format. The next draw is in May for the group stages.
Pirates start against the unknown Djabal FC from the Comoros Islands, which has only been a Fifa member for the past eight years
Pirates are at home in the first leg on the weekend of February 16-17, one week after the end of the Nations Cup. They go away to the island of Grande Comore on March 2 or 3.
Pirates should have little difficulty advancing, where Zanaco of Zambia will probably lie in wait in the second round in March and April.
Zanaco won the league on the last day of the season in Zambia last month and have now taken six titles over the past decade. Their side is coached by Keegan Mumba, who has already told reporters Zanaco will "do our best to make our country proud" in the 2013 Champions League.
Mazembe, who were African champions in 2009 and 2010, are owned by Moise Katumbi, the governor of the copper-rich Katanga province who seems to have a limitless piggy bank to fund his side.
The team includes five members of the Zambia squad that won the last Nations Cup plus a bevy of Congolese internationals and they reached the semifinals of the Champions League this year, narrowly going out to Esperance of Tunisia.
Mazembe are the only African side to have reached the Club World Cup final, when Inter Milan beat them in the deciding game in Abu Dhabi two years ago.
Six Mazembe players are training with the Congo national side in Port Elizabeth. Presumably they will use the opportunity to spy on Pirates, who are in the Windy City on Friday to take on Maritzburg United.
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