Experience the dividing line as South Africa’s clubs feel CAF pressure early

COMMENT

South Africa’s three representatives learned very quickly this past weekend that the CAF group stages are about far more than talent, form or league pedigree. 

They are about muscle memory — the kind built from years of navigating unfriendly venues, awkward kick-off times, psychological warfare, and opponents who treat home advantage like a weapon. And if the opening round of fixtures showed anything, it is that CAF experience remains the dividing line in how South African clubs start their continental campaigns.

Kaizer Chiefs felt that truth the hardest. Their defeat to Al Masry in the CAF Confederation Cup in Suez was not simply a loss — it was a reminder of how different these spaces are from the Betway Premiership. 

Chiefs actually started confidently, looked organised, and even threatened to control passages of the match. But group-stage football in North Africa has never been about looking tidy. 

It’s about absorbing pressure when the environment turns hostile, maintaining structure when the tempo spikes, and managing moments when opponents lean into every CAF trick in the book.Al Masry did exactly that.

Once Chiefs conceded, the game changed shape and intensity, and the inexperience of several players on this stage was exposed. 

Chiefs were not outplayed; they were out-experienced. And that remains their biggest hurdle ahead of next week’s clash against Zamalek in Polokwane — a fixture that will demand a maturity they are still trying to build.

Across the continent, Mamelodi Sundowns were busy showing what long-term CAF continuity looks like.

Their win over Saint-Eloi Lupopo was the performance of a team that no longer treats the Champions League as an event, but as an annual responsibility. 

They controlled the tempo, trusted their structure, and managed key moments with a calmness only a decade of consistent continental participation can teach. Even when Lupopo attempted to disrupt Sundowns’ rhythm, the champions barely flinched. 

They know how to win these games — early in the group phase, at home, against opponents who try to turn the occasion chaotic. It’s a footballing education that has been earned, not inherited.

The same theme applied, in a different way, to Stellenbosch FC. Their Confederation Cup group-stage opener could easily have ended in frustration, tension and late anxiety. 

Instead, they stayed patient, stayed disciplined, and seized their moment through Ashley Cupido’s last-minute winner against AS Otoho . 

It was the perfect introduction to CAF life: tight margins, emotional swings, but a reward for mental resilience.

Stellies don’t have the experience of Sundowns, but they showed something equally important — the ability to remain composed in a tournament that punishes hesitation. And that is ultimately the lesson that ties this weekend together.

CAF competition is less about what South African clubs want to do and more about what they can handle. Sundowns showed why experience is priceless. 

Stellenbosch showed they can grow into it. Chiefs showed how costly the lack of it can be. But there are five group matches left. CAF campaigns are marathons, not sprints — and if Chiefs, Stellies and Sundowns internalise the lessons of this opening round, South Africa may yet shape this continental season.