Clubs sweat on Caf draws

Mamelodi Sundowns, SuperSport United and Platinum Stars will find out today who their opponents are in the group stages of this year’s Confederation of African Football (Caf) tournaments.

Both the Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup group stages have been expanded from eight to 16 teams, with four groups of four teams in each competition to be selected at Caf headquarters in Cairo, with the draw scheduled for 12pm.

Last year’s winners Sundowns are the last South African side left in the Caf Champions League, following the elimination of Bidvest Wits in the play-off round. Wits also failed to make it through the play-offs for the Caf Confederation Cup group stages, but Stars and SuperSport did make it.

Sundowns are seeded in Pot 1 for the Champions League draw, meaning they will avoid the side they beat in last year’s final, Egyptian giants Zamalek, as well as their Cairo rivals Al-Ahly and Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel.

There are still plenty of dangerous opponents for Sundowns, however, with another Tunisian giant Esperance in Pot 2, along with Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, Algeria’s USM Alger and Sudan’s Al Hilal.

One potentially fascinating opponents for Sundowns are the DR Congo’s AS Vita, who knocked the Brazilians out of last year’s Champions League, only for Pitso Mosimane’s (above) side to be reinstated in the group stages after AS Vita were kicked out for fielding an ineligible player in the preliminary qualifying round.

There are also three southern African sides that Sundowns could also face in the group stages, with Pot 4 in the draw containing Mozambique’s Ferroviario Beira, Zambia’s Zanaco and Zimbabwe’s CAPS United, who stunned TP Mazembe in the play-offs.