Amakhosi are South Africa’s most successful club by a long way in terms of trophies won, but the one thing archrivals Orlando Pirates have over them is a star above their badge denoting success in the Champions League.
The Buccaneers’ run to the group phase of the competition this year appears to gave galvanised South African interest in the tournament once more, a great backdrop against which Chiefs can enter next season.
But the Glamour Boys have not always had a fondness for playing in CAF competitions and have been banned in the past for not honouring fixtures.
That has limited their participation to just two instances, both of which failed to see them delve deep into the competition.
Their domestic championship success in 1992 saw them entered into the 1993 Champions Cup as it was know then in the first year of South Africa’s participation in continental club football.
They were drawn against Botswana side Lobatse Gunners in the first round and breezed past them 6-0 on aggregate. That set up a potentially difficult tie with Rwanda’s Kiyovu Sport, but after a 5-2 win in Kigali they won the return 4-1 for a comfortable victory in the tie.
Egyptian giants Zamalek were next up, but after a 2-1 home win, they lost 1-0 in Cairo to bow out on the away goals rules.
Their lean domestic form meant it would be another 12 years before they competed on Africa’s biggest stage.
A PSL triumph in the 2003/04 campaign meant they were entered into the 2005 Champions League, where they suffered a surprise 2-1 first round loss at Mauritian side AS Port Louis 2000 , but still won the tie 3-2 on aggregate.
An easier 5-1 aggregate success followed against USJF Ravinala from Madagascar, before they again came unstuck against north African opposition.
This time it was Tunisia’s Esperance who defeated Chiefs 4-0 in Tunis to essentially settle the tie in the first leg, though Chiefs did fight back with a 2-1 win in the home leg.
That defeat meant they dropped down to the CAF Confederation Cup that season and were due to play Egyptian side Ismaili. But Amakhosi refused to take part in the competition and were banned from playing in Africa for two seasons.
That meant their League triumph in the 2004/05 season did not lead to another campaign in the Champions League.
The club does have one triumph on the continent though, they won the 2001 CAF Cup Winners’ Cup, the forerunner to the Confederation Cup tournament.