PSL clubs get the luck of the pan-African draw

THE AMBITIOUS Cape Town City have set their sights on going all the way in their first appearance in the Caf Confederation Cup.

The Citizens booked their place in next year’s competition by finishing third in their debut season in the Absa Premiership after John Comitis bought Mpumalanga Black Aces’ status and relocated the club to the Mother City.

The Citizens brought fresh energy and innovation to the country’s football landscape. Their ambition was quenched by the Telkom Knockout title they won before they turned even a year old.

City start their Confederation Cup campaign against Young Buffaloes of Swaziland with the first leg in Mbabane. Should they win MAMELODI Sundowns have decided against pursuing legal action against Orlando Pirates for “stealing” Justin Shonga.

Shonga was supposed to go to Sundowns but ended up at Pirates. The former Nkana FC star had agreed to everything with Sundowns, and the team went as far as waiting for him at the airport; but when they phoned him, the player told them he was on his way to Parktown.

“Sundowns won’t be pursuing any legal action against Pirates,” a source close to matter confirmed.

“Yes, the player was on the radar of Sundowns. Nkana and Sundowns had agreed and they were waiting for the transfer fee to complete the deal. Sundowns gave Nkana the cheque and they were waiting for the cheque to clear after seven days.

“Pirates heard that Sundowns used a cheque to complete the deal and they came with cash. Nkana took the cash and that’s how the deal was done.

“Even the agent (Mike Ngobeni) was at the airport with Sundowns officials waiting for the player. He was surprised when he heard that the player was on his way to Pirates.”

It is not the first time something like this has happened. A few years back Peter Ndlovu was on his way to Kaizer Chiefs but ended up at Sundowns.

“They were angry when the incident happened but they realised that even if they wanted to pursue the matter, they weren’t going to win,” the source said.

“That’s why they have decided to let go of the issue.

“Nkana offered Sundowns Lameck Banda after the Shonga incident. Sundowns were impressed by Banda, but couldn’t sign him because of the rules, but he will be back in 2019 when he turns 18.”

Pirates’ administrative manager Floyd Mbele maintained that they followed the right procedure when they signed Shonga from Nkana.

“We did everything right when we signed him. We were not aware that Sundowns wanted to sign him and we were not afraid that we might have done anything wrong. We saw the player during the Cosafa Cup and decided to pursue,” Mbele explained.

Sundowns spokeperson Thulani Thuswa was unavailable for comment. that match, they will face either Galaxy FC of Botswana or Clube de Desportos da Costa do Sol of Mozambique, with a place in the group stage up for grabs.

This year’s Confederation Cup losing finalists, SuperSport United, got a bye in the first round.

Matsatsantsa a Pitori will take on Masters Security Services FC of Mali or Atletico Petroleos de Luanda of Angola.

“The target is to go all the way, there are no compromises,” City boss, Comitis (pictured) said. “It’s a good thing that we have been handed a relatively easy start and not a start from hell. Swaziland is ORLANDO Pirates have dismissed the suggestion they committed a mistake by loaning out Gift Motupa to Baroka FC.

Motupa has been one of the shining stars in the Absa Premiership so far this season and has already scored five goals. He was loaned out at the start of the season after spending most of his time on the Buccaneers bench last season.

Despite the striker’s good vein of form at Baroka, Pirates administrative manager Floyd Mbele denied easy to access, which means that the logistics are easy. They aren’t a footballing powerhouse, so expecting a positive result in our first match isn’t a tough ask.”

Mamelodi Sundowns, just like their cross-town rivals SuperSport, got a bye in the preliminary round thanks to winning the Caf Champions League in

2016 and reaching the quarter-finals this year – losing to eventual winners Wydad Casablanca of Morocco. The Brazilians will be eager to make up for that disappointment in their clash with either Rayon Sport of Rwanda or Lydia Ludic Burundi Academic in the first they were kicking themselves for not having kept him in their squad.

“It is not a mistake. You can’t use the word ‘mistake’ because we have loaned players before. We’ve loaned Thabo Rakhale to Polokwane City and Thembinkosi Lorch to Chippa United. It was a conscious decision by the club. The main reason to loan players is for them to gain confidence and get game time,” Mbele elaborated.

But Pirates have struggled for goals and have a measly 10 from 14 matches with Thamsanqa Gabuza their top scorer with only three round. Bidvest Wits were drawn with Pamplemousses of Mauritius in the preliminary round with the first leg in Milpark.

Should Wits emerge victorious they will face either FC Platinum from Zimbabwe or Angola’s Clube Desportivo 1º de Agosto.

This year South Africa had a record three clubs in the group stages, Sundowns in the Champions League while SuperSport and Platinum Stars reached the group stage of the Confederation Cup.

Looking at the draw the country’s four participants got, all four teams can reach the group stage.

“We will put our strongest squad in this competition,” Comitis said. “If you look at our team, it’s not too far-fetched to think that we can reach the group stage. We are an ambitious team that’s always looking to grow. This competition is an strikes.

Asked if they will be tempted to bring Motupa back to try and solve their scoring problem, Mbele responded: “That will depend on the coach. I can say I want to bring him back only to find out that the coach has a different view. I cannot pre-empt what will happen. Next week we will have a meeting with the technical team where we will review the first round and discuss our plans going forward.”

Pirates were very busy in the June transfer window. They signed Musa Nyatama, Wayne Sandilands, Justin Shong. They also brought ideal opportunity to do so by taking our brand across the continent.”

Even though the competition is a financially taxing process, the increase in prizemoney makes up for it for the winners. Close to

R34 million is up for grabs in the Champions League, while the winners of the Confederation Cup will get a cheque in the region of R17 million.

“What Sundowns, SuperSport and (Orlando) Pirates have done in these competitions motivates us to go all the way,” Comitis said. “There is now more prestige in playing in these competitions and Caf have got their act right which is why we fancy our chances.”

These two tournaments will start in February and finish in November.

From 2019 these competitions will run from August to May. back Justice Chabalala and Innocent Maele who were on loan at Chippa United and Thanda Royal Zulu respectively last season.

“The January transfer window is a very tricky window. It is willing seller, willing buyer transfer period. But as a club we are always looking and if there’s something interesting available we will look at it. We will wait for the recommendation of the technical team next week,” Mbele elaborated.

Pirates are away at Goble Park to take on Free State Stars in an Absa Premiership match early Saturday evening (kick-off 6pm).