Wits have to manage Caf juggling act

Pitso Mosimane (above) has backed Bidvest Wits to do well in the Caf Confederation Cup this season, but does wonder how it will affect their Absa Premiership campaign.

The Clever Boys have improved on the continent this season, making it to the group stages of the continent’s second tier club competition, the Caf Confederation Cup. Mosimane says Wits have what it takes to do well in the competition, but has put up a question mark about how they will manage to balance the Confed Cup and challenge on the domestic front as they are now playing catch up, in terms of games played in the Premiership.

“I believe that South African teams have a chance and I believe that Bidvest Wits can do it. I have always said that Wits is a strong team and it is capable. I have seen Wits play against Al-Ahly (in the 2017 Caf Champions Leaue) and they lost narrowly,” said Mosimane.

“Wits have the team to play in Africa and they are showing it in the Confederation Cup. Of course they will have the stress because there are six games in the group stages and they are four (Premiership) games behind,” said Mosimane. ‘‘It is 10 games so they will need to see how they put 10 games in this program.”

On the part of Sundowns, they will kick-start their Champions League campaign at the end of this month against Petro de Luanda in the capital city. “Jingles” however, is looking far and beyond this season into the 2020/2021 edition where the top three teams of that season will represent the continent in the maiden extended version (24 teams) of the Fifa Club World Cup. Downs had a taste of rubbing shoulders with the big guns when they were Africa’s flag bearers in Japan in 2016 when the competition still featured seven teams.

“That has been my life in the last six years. Last season we finished fourth in the Champions League and the new format takes three. We have a chance again and we have been there. It is always good to see the emblem of Real Madrid alongside Mamelodi Sundowns.”