Kaizer Chiefs’ return to continental football is already carrying an upper hand as the Nedbank Cup champions plan for their second competition this season.
Chiefs have a two-legged date with Kabuscorp Sport Club do Palanca in the first qualifying round of the CAF Confederation Cup to be settled this month (September).
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The plus factor for the Soweto giants is that they will be up against an opponent yet to play competitive football this season and thin on continental club football experience.
Firstly, Angola’s 2025/26 Girabola season is yet to start, which means Kabuscorp are yet to have any official games.
According to information from Angola, Kabuscorp will only start their new season on September 13 in the Super Cup against league champions Petro de Luanda.
They then have their first league match scheduled for September 16, after which they then host Amakhosi on September 20.
That will be three matches crammed into a week right at the start of the new season.
After that, the Angolans will travel to South Africa for the second leg.
The aggregate winners will then proceed to play either Comoros club Djabal Club d’Iconi or the unknown club from DR Congo, where there are unresolved issues relating to the clubs representing the country.
Secondly, this will only be Kabuscorp’s second appearance in continental club football having come stuck in the first round in 2014.
On the contrary, Chiefs have played five league games, winning four (against Stellenbosch FC, Polokwane City, Richards Bay FC, and Golden Arrows) and playing one draw (against Mamelodi Sundowns).
They will play another league match – which will be against Sekhukhune United – before getting on the 3hr 40 min flight from OR Tambo International Airport to Quatro de Fevereiro Luanda International Airport.
The first leg of this first round tie is set to be played at the Estádio 11 de Novembro in Luanda as Kabuscorp’s traditional home Estadio dos Coqueiros doesn’t meet CAF standards.
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Kabuscorp entered the Confederation Cup as winners of the 2024/25 Taça de Angola.
Chiefs is a club with a fair share of experience on the continent – they won the 2001 Cup Winners Cup and then were 2020/21 Champions League runners-up.
Photo: Daniel Hlongwane/Gallo Images
