Kaizer Chiefs under pressure as 2021 CAF Champions League starts

Kaizer Chiefs squad (Gallo Images)

Gavin Hunt-coached Kaizer Chiefs will be under
enormous pressure to succeed when the 2021 CAF Champions League kicks
off this week with 22 preliminary-round first legs.

It will be the sixth appearance in the elite competition by a club
that have never delivered results to match boasts by officials that they
are among the giants of Africa.

Chiefs have yet to progress beyond the qualifying stage, leaving many
pundits questioning how seriously their players take participation in
the Champions League.

Hunt also has a lot to prove having regularly flopped in the
Champions League and the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup with Bidvest
Wits before joining Chiefs recently.

Chiefs chairperson and former star Kaizer Motaung is demanding better
ahead of tricky away fixture against debutants PWD Bamenda in Cameroon.

“We have not done as well as we should have. Succeeding in Africa is
important to Kaizer Chiefs and I believe we possess sufficient
experienced players to go far,” he said.  

Here, AFP Sport presents a guide to the 2021 edition of a competition
which kicks off Friday, the same day Egyptian clubs Al Ahly and Zamalek
meet in the 2020 final.

Qualifying

The 12 highest ranked nations among the 54
Confederation of African Football (CAF) members and two associate
members are permitted to enter their national league winners and
runners-up.

Other countries must settle for one entrant – ordinarily the league
champions – unless financial constraints or a suspension opens the door
to another team.

There are preliminary and last-32 qualifying rounds and, depending on
the number of competitors, consistently successful clubs like Ahly and
Zamalek receive byes to the round of 32. 

North rules

North African clubs, led by record eight-time
title-holders Ahly, have dominated the Champions League for decades with
TP Mazembe from the Democratic Republic of Congo the notable exception.

Seven of the last 10 finals have been won by Ahly (three), Esperance
Tunis (two), Entente Setif and Wydad Casablanca (one each), all clubs
from the north. 

Mazembe (twice) and Mamelodi Sundowns from South Africa (once) were
the other champions and, significantly, they enjoy huge financial
backing from Moise Katumbi and Patrice Motsepe respectively.

Title favourites

Seven of the 2020 quarter-finalists are back for another title challenge with Etoile Sahel of Tunisia the only club to miss out.

All seven – Ahly, Zamalek, Esperance, Raja Casablanca, Wydad,
Mazembe, Sundowns – are among the favourites given their CAF pedigrees.

It is difficult to imagine the winners coming from outside that group
although twice champions Enyimba of Nigeria and the multi-national
squad of Horoya from Guinea could go far.

‘Presidential’ contenders

FC Nouadhibou of Mauritania and
Sundowns have links to Ahmed Yahya and Motsepe, two of the contenders
for the CAF presidency, which will be decided in Morocco next March.

Mauritanian Football Federation president Yahya founded Nouadhibou,
popularly known as the Orange Club, 21 years ago and they host twice
African champions Asante Kotoko of Ghana this weekend. 

Billionaire businessman Motsepe has bankrolled Pretoria-based
Sundowns for more than a decade and turned the ‘Brazilians’ into the
dominant South African club with a record 10 league titles.

Prize money

Champions League title-holders pocket $2.5
million (2.1m euros), double the prize money that goes to the winners of
the CAF Confederation Cup, the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa
League.

Runners-up receive $1.25 million, semi-finalists $875,000 each,
quarter-finalists $650,000 apiece and third and fourth-place group
finishers $550,000 each. 

Clubs eliminated in the preliminary and last-32 rounds receive no
cash from CAF – a bone of contention given the often considerable
expenditure on travel and accommodation.