OPINION – CAF club success bodes well for Bafana

Success for Orlando Pirates, Mamelodi Sundowns and Stellenboch in last weekend’s Confederation of African Football competitions can only bode well for the South African game heading into 2025.

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Bafana Bafana head coach Hugo Broos has made no secret of wanting more Premier Soccer League players to experience continental club football. It gives them a grounding in what playing highly competitive football across Africa is like, and this comes in very handy for Bafana.

Bafana ‘Sundowns’ do well at AFCON

This played out on a large scale in 2024 as a Bafana team made up mostly of Mamelodi Sundowns stars finished third at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals in the Ivory Coast, made good progress in 2026 Fifa World Cup qualifying, and qualified comfortably for the 2025 AFCON finals in Morocco.

Pirates and Stellies have already sealed their places in the Caf Champions League and Caf Confederation Cup quarterfinals with a game to spare. For Pirates, this represents a return to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time since 2013.

Jose Riveiro deserves credit for building a strong Buccaneers team, even more of whom are now fighting for places in the Bafana squad.

Sipho Chaine, Thalente Mbatha, Relebohile Mofokeng, Patrick Maswanganyi and Evidence Makgopa are all likely to make the grade when Broos names his squad in March for vital World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Benin. And there could be more Buccaneers too, with Mohau Nkota, Dean Van Rooyen and others raising a hand.

Superb Stellies

Stellies have done superbly to make the Confed Cup quarterfinals at the first attempt. Forward Devin Titus and goalkeeper Sage Stephens were both in Bafana Bafana squad for the AFCON qualifiers in November.

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Midfielder Jayden Adams may well also get back into the squad if he can show Broos his disciplinary issues are in the past. Though he is set to do so in the colours of Sundowns, with a transfer imminent.

As for Sundowns, they still need at least a point at home to AS FAR on Sunday to guarantee a place in the last eight of the Champions League. But their experience makes them heavy favourites to get it, and they are likely to remain the core of Broos’ Bafana for some time to come.