CAF Champions League Qualification: Pirates need a strong start
The CAF Champions League is on the horizon, with Orlando Pirates being the only South African representative playing in the Preliminary rounds. We wanted to take this opportunity to profile the teams involved and weight the Soweto Giants chances of advancing to this competitions next round and competing with the Pretoria Rivals Mamelodi Sundowns who are waiting on the other side having preliminary rounds of the CAF Champions League as champions of the PSL.
Did You Know?
Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns are the only South African teams to have won the CAF Champions League, with both sides having one title each.
CAF Champions League 2024/2025
Africa's biggest show piece is coming back in a few weeks, with Al Ahly pushing to secure their third title in a row. They have won 12 CAF Champions League titles over the years with 2020's producing 4 titles in spectacular fashion. They have been challenged by Wydad Casablanca, Esperance Tunis, TP Mazembe and Mamelodi Sundowns and each time, Al Ahly has risen above all of these world class challengers.
The quality of soccer played around the continent has risen significantly and the CAF Champions League has benefited from more challengers coming to the tournament. The Competition will kick off with a preliminary round that will feature 16 teams from across the continent. Al Ahly, Espérance de Tunis, Mamelodi Sundowns, Atlético Petroleos, and TP Mazembe are exempted from preliminary round.
Cs-Dfc vs Orlando Pirates
16 August 2024 18;00
Orlando Pirates ended last season as runners up in the Premier Soccer League. This meant that they would qualify for the CAF Champions League, their journey however starts in the preliminary rounds of the competition with their first opponent being Cs-Dfc (Disciples FC) of Madagascar. They qualified through winning the 2024 league title in impressive fashion. They topped the Southern Conference table by two points, only dropping points on two occasions and securing five wins out of seven matches. Fosa Juniors had a better campaign in the Northern Conference but had a difficult time in the knockout stages, being knocked out by Elgeco Plus 3-1 in the quarter finals.
Disciples however, had a stellar knock-out campaign, winning 5-2 against TFFC, 5-3 against Zanakala FC and 1-0 against Elgeco Plus in the final. That is 11 goals scored in three matches by Disciples FC. Orlando Pirates fans will be expecting a smooth start to their CAF Champions League campaign when their team travels to Madagascar. However, I'd advise a little bit of caution when backing Pirates to win this game convincingly. This is the CAF Champions league after all, every team playing at this level deserves to be there, do not under estimate any opponent.
With that being said Orlando Pirates are a force to be reckoned with. they have start the season on a high after dispatching Supersport United in the MTN 8. The 1995 CAF Champions League champions are on a journey to establish themselves as the biggest team in South Africa after years of Mamelodi Sundowns domination. They also had the crown of being The only South African team to have won this coveted trophy for a number of years before sundowns claimed the continental crown in 2016, joining pirates as the only South African teams to have ruled the continent.
Check out our other Soccer Betting Predictions here.
