Stellenbosch continue nomadic existence

Stellenbosch will be hosting their next home match in the African Confederation Cup at the Cape Town Stadium and will play their first league match of the new Betway Premiership season at Athlone Stadium as their home ground recovers from hosting numerous rugby matches in recent months.

Stellenbosch take on AS Vita Club of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the first leg of their second-round tie on Friday, 13 September, followed by a return match in Kinshasa the next weekend.

In between they will play an opening league game at Lamontville Golden Arrows, which will be at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, club officials said.

The pitch at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch has been damaged after hosting rugby matches in the rainy conditions that the Western Cape has experienced over the last months.

Stellenbosch will only return to the venue and play their first game at home on 25 September when they host Cape Town City in a league derby.

It has already been a nomadic start for the Winelands club because of the problems with venues in the Western Cape after what has been described as the wettest winter on record.

There was much criticism of the Danie Craven Stadium surface after they beat TS Galaxy in their MTN8 quarterfinal on 4 August.

Visiting coach Saed Ramovic was particularly critical of the Premier Soccer League for allowing the game to go ahead on a poor track.

After that Stellenbosch were first to take the home leg of their Confederation Cup first round tie against Eswatini’s Nsingizini Hotspurs to the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

They did the same with the second leg of their MTN8 semifinal against Mamelodi Sundowns, which they won 1-0 for a 2-0 aggregate triumph and a place in next months’ final against Orlando Pirates.

The venue for the MTN8 decider on 5 October is still to be announced.