Galaxy’s run could see increased CAF slots
Local football will hope Jwaneng Galaxy’s progress in the CAF Champions League will yield additional slots for domestic sides. Due to the lower ranking of local clubs in CAF’s five-year ratings, there have been no additional slots in the continental club competitions.
The CAF five-year ranking is a pointing system used to rank member associations participating in club competitions. Points accumulate in the group stages of both the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations Cup over the latest five-year period count.
The system determines the number of clubs that each CAF member association may enter in the inter-club competitions. In the current CAF five-year ranking, Botswana is ranked 21st moving three places down from 18 in 2022.
Township Rollers’ exploits in the 2018 CAF Champions League’s group stages and Galaxy’s run in the 2021–2022 season had aided the giant leap from 28 to 18 in 2022. The top 12 ranked association members are allowed to enter two teams in each of the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederations Cup, while the rest are limited to just one in each of the competitions. The local football fraternity is
now looking to the league champions, Jwaneng Galaxy to move Botswana closer to the elite club. Galaxy’s points accumulated in the 2021– 2022 season leave Botswana with four as per the mathematical sequence used in these rankings. The Jwaneng-based side has since managed a spot among the top 16 in the CAF Champions League.
The team would need a minimum of six points in the six group stage matches for Botswana to be counted among the top 12 teams. Galaxy has become local football’s shining beacon in the continental tournament. Despite their infant status with just nine years in existence, Galaxy has statistically become the most successful local side in Africa’s inter-club competitions.
It was, however, not a smooth take-off as in their debut, the team was not knocked out by Costa do Sol of Mozambique in the 2018 Confederations Cup. In their Champions League debut, Galaxy managed to eliminate continental giants, Simba of Tanzania in the second preliminary round.
The team saw off Le Messager DFC 8eme of the Central African Republic in the preliminary round. The Galaxy Stars did not enjoy their stay in the group stages as they were pitted against African giants. The team went on to record five losses against Esperance de Tunis, CR Belouizdad of Algeria and Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel. The twotime league champions managed a single point in a home 1-1 draw against Etoile du Sahel. In their return to the continent’s elite club competition, Galaxy eliminated one of Africa’s budding sides Vipers SC of Uganda in the first round. A big victory then followed against 1995 champions, Orlando Pirates.
Galaxy won 1-0 at home and lost 1-0 away, but sailed through after a 5-4 penalty shootout win. Galaxy will today learn about their CAF Champions League group-stage opponents. The team is pitted in Pot 4 of the draw with Etoile du Sahel, Medeama and FC Nouadhibou. Tournament’s favourites, Al Ahly and Mamelodi Sundowns are in Pot 1 and could face the local side. The draw will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa at noon.