SOWETAN SAYS | More SA clubs in CAF boost domestic game

Abderrahmane Ben Tahar of CR Belouizdad on the offensive and fails to score during the CAF Champions League match between Orlando Pirates and CR Belouizdad at Orlando Stadium on January 12, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Abderrahmane Ben Tahar of CR Belouizdad on the offensive and fails to score during the CAF Champions League match between Orlando Pirates and CR Belouizdad at Orlando Stadium on January 12, 2025 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Image: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

It’s not often that three SA teams qualify for the CAF inter-club quarterfinals, but it appears we may be in for good news right at the start of the year.

Orlando Pirates and Stellenbosch have booked their place in the last-eight of the Champions League and Confederation Cup, respectively, and we expect Mamelodi Sundowns to join them after their last match this weekend.

Having three representatives in continental football is a major boost for the domestic game, which for too long has been carried by Sundowns as the sole representative in the latter knockout stages.

Pirates have corrected the wrongs of last season, when they were stunned by Botswana’s Jwaneng Galaxy in the preliminary rounds. The Buccaneers now top a group which includes record champions Al Ahly, and head to Cairo this weekend needing only to avoid defeat to emerge ahead of the Egyptian giants.

While Sundowns and Bucs were always expected to carry the SA flag, the emergence of Stellies as a potential competitive force in the continent has to be applauded. The Cape Winelands team did not have a particularly great start in the Confederation Cup, losing their opening two matches, but bounced back with an impressive three wins in a row to book their place.

This was Stellies’ first venture into continental football, and making things even more difficult for Steve Barker’s team was the fact that they lost key players again at the start of the season. Their skipper Deano van Rooyen headed to Pirates, while striker Iqraam Rayners was sold to Sundowns. However, Stellies, somehow, continue to hold a competitive edge and are able to find replacements, which is a major credit to their development structures.

Sundowns may have had a slow start this season and need an outright win against Morocco’s AS FAR in Sunday’s final match. We’re hopeful they will pull through and join Stellies and Pirates in the quarterfinals .

That way, we can dream of a possibility of an-all SA final in the Champions League, as North African teams, such as Ahly and Zamalek, have done in the past. It would be great for South Africans to travel to Loftus Verfeld for the first leg of a Champions League final, and then head to Orlando for the second leg.

Our teams can make this a reality, but they will face even tougher challenges from now onwards. We wish them well.


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