CAF Champions League
We look at the opponents of Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns in their 2020-21 CAF Champions League group campaign.
The noises coming out of Naturena have been very positive: Kaizer Chiefs want to “make a go” of this season’s African Champions League and prove their bona-fides and enormous reputation on the continental stage.
They are group phase rookies -an extraordinary indictment to the indifference of a club with one of the highest profiles in Africa.
But continental club competition in the past has not proven appetising for the club, who despite their healthy financials have balked at the expense of playing in the Champions League and/or the African Confederation Cup.
To be fair, they did win the now defunct African Cup Winners’ Cup in 2001 but could have been up there with the likes of Al Ahly or Esperance, but have wasted two decades of opportunity to cement a large footprint internationally.
They were the first team to represent South Africa in the continent’s top club competition, going through three rounds in 1993 before being narrowly eliminated by Zamalek of Egypt on the away goals rule.
That was before the introduction of the league format in 1997, as Africa followed on the modifications first introduced by UEFA, who changed the European Cup to the Champions League four years earlier.
But while Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns went on to win the African Champions League final in 1995 and 2016 respectively, Chiefs have been conspicuous by their absence.
Ajax Cape Town,
Manning Rangers and SuperSport United
(two of them since defunct) have also reached the Champions
League group phase, yet for Chiefs this will be a rookie experience.
Not that they will be an unknown factor. They have a ready reputation across the continent, particularly south of the Equator, that is now given a credence as they steady to take on Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, Horoya from Guinea and Angola’s Petro Atletico in Group C.
This season also marks the first time there will be two South African clubs in the group phase in the same edition
Kaizer Chiefs will take part in the group stages of the African Champions league for the first time in their history and the message from within the halls of Naturena is clear: ‘ We are going for the title’. After years of watching Mamelodi Sundowns grow their status and brand on the continent, Chiefs are eager to join the party, even in this most difficult of seasons. KICK OFF’s Mark Gleeson previews the 2020-21 group stage campaign for the South African pair.
of the competition. For Sundowns, it is a now a routine as they mark a sixth successive edition in the last 16.
Sundowns were African champions five years ago and quarter-finalists in the last edition, yet it was not enough to see them among the top seeds when the draw was conducted in Cairo in early January.
They have been paired in Group B with TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Al Hila of Sudan and the Algerians Chabab Belouizdad.
Sundowns will be fancied to again advance to the quarter-finals while Chiefs feel they have a chance too. Club officials are adamant AmaKhosi will be taking it seriously after leaving the impression in 2014-16, when they participated for three successive years but were each time knocked out early, that they were ambivalent about the Champions League.
Gavin Hunt is keen too, although he can also be accused of past indifference about African club competition when he was in charge at SuperSport United, and particularly, Bidvest Wits.
It is an accusation he is ready to concede, admitting both clubs found the financial burden of travel around the continent hard but says that at Chiefs the ambition is to win everything.
The problem for the club will come from stretched resources. Participation in the Champions League could impact on the vulnerable league position.
If Chiefs return to relegation trouble, even after their January pick me up, Hunt will have no hesitation in keeping his key players for domestic duty as survival in the DStv Premiership takes precedence over African club competition, especially as the FIFA transfer ban means no new signings until June.
Sundowns have no such concerns; their squad was given plenty of extra ‘oomph’ in the off-season with a bevy of new signings and they have renewed ambition of again mounting the Champions League winner’s podium.
They avoided Al Ahly in the group phase but what a delicious prospect it is of Sundowns going up against ex-coach Pitso Mosimane’s in the latter knockout stages. For that to happen, both must finish in the top two in the group, one in first place and the other second.