The race for places in next year’s African club competitions is heating up in the DStv Premiership with the top two sides in the table to enter the CAF Champions League in 2022/23, and the teams that ends third gaining entry to the CAF Confederation Cup.
As we enter the final straight of the season, with most teams having five games left to play, the stakes are getting higher by the match.
It is one of the drawcards of the DStv Premiership that there are seldom ever any dead rubbers, with teams either fighting for the title, CAF club qualifying, a place in next season’s lucrative MTN8 or the battle to beat the drop.
SuperSport.com looks at the main contenders for the places on offer.
CAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Mamelodi Sundowns have nailed down the first position in the elite competition given their 13 point lead at the top of the DStv Premiership table.
They have not mathematically won the title yet, but it is inconceivable that they will not complete the job, which they may do as soon as next Wednesday.
That leaves a number of teams chasing the final qualification place for Africa’s elite club competition and at the moment Royal AM are in the pound seats.
They hold a four-point lead over third-placed Cape Town City, though they have played a game more. They have three of their remaining five games at home, where they have won nine of their last 11 games (D2), but two of those are against Orlando Pirates and Sundowns.
The great unknown in the equation for the second Champions League place is what will happen with Kaizer Chiefs’ two outstanding matches from December against Cape Town City and Lamontville Golden Arrows.
The matches were not played as Chiefs had a number of Covid-19 cases in their squad and while PSL regulations state they should forfeit the points, a SAFA arbitrator has muddied the waters by ruling in the AmaKhosi’s favour.
That City game could be vital to deciding the outcome. At the moment it is due to be played on April 30, but City say they will fight tooth and nail to get the points awarded to them.
That would move them up to 43 points, one behind Royal AM and likely knock Chiefs out of the running.
If the game is played, and Chiefs win, it will bring them very much into the occasion, especially if they manage to get the points from the game against Golden Arrows next Wednesday.
So there are likely four teams fighting for the second Champions League place, but what happens with Chiefs and those two games could be central to the outcome.
CAF CONFEDERATION CUP
The Chiefs situation will have a big bearing on Confederation Cup qualification too, with Cape Town City currently in that position.
But just a point behind them are Chiefs and Pirates (both 39), while even Stellenbosch FC (36), AmaZulu (35) and SuperSport United (34) are still in which a shout, though they would likely have to win all five remaining games this season.
But the likelihood is it will come from one of four sides – Royal AM, City, Chiefs and Pirates.
The Buccaneers have, perhaps, the gentlest run-in, as they must face battlers Chippa United, TS Galaxy and Maritzburg United before the season is out. They can also gain some ground with a win over Royal AM, before they finish their season away at SuperSport United.
But the distraction of a Confederation Cup quarterfinal, second leg, this weekend against Simba, and a potential semifinal to follow, complicates their planning.
Aside from those two outstanding games, Chiefs have a relatively tough programme to follow as they play Stellenbosch (away), Marumo Gallants (home), Sundowns (home), Sekhukhune United (away) and Swallows (home).
Such has been their inconsistency that nothing is guaranteed against anybody.
Pirates, Stellenbosch and AmaZulu tend to draw too many games, though the latter have won two in a row since Brandon Truter took charge, while SuperSport perhaps lack the experience to win five games in a row.
It makes it likely that the CAF Confederation Cup place will go to one of Royal AM, City or Chiefs.
As an aside, Marumo Gallants may well appear in the competition for the second year in a row if they beat second-tier strugglers TTM in their semifinal of the Nedbank Cup.
That is because they will face one of Sundowns or Royal AM in the decider, and even if they lose that match, will gain entry to the competition by virtue of one of those clubs having already qualified via their league placing.
That will certainly be the case if they meet Sundowns, and likely if it is Royal AM that are their opponents.