Stellenbosch FC will be kicking off their CAF Confederations Cup Second Preliminary Round first leg away to 15 de Agosto in Equatorial Guinea on Saturday afternoon.
Stellenbosch will return to continental football, following an impressive debut campaign last season.
The team from the Winelands made history when they were eliminated in the semi-final after losing 1-0 to Tanzanian giants Simba on aggregate.
“We are extremely excited to begin our CAF campaign,” said Stellies coach Steve Barker ahead of the encounter.
“We had a good experience last season, so we’re looking forward to what lies ahead. There are a lot of lessons that need to be learned from last time around.
“We fell one hurdle short of playing in a continental final last season, but now we must start taking it just one step at a time again. Our priority is getting into the group stage, and that’s our main focus for this match, and then we’ll take it from there.”
The best quartet
Stellies are one of four South African teams representing the country on the continent this season, alongside fellow Confed Cup contenders Kaizer Chiefs.
Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns will be holding it down in the CAF Champions League.
In those four teams, and with Bafana Bafana’s recent FIFA World Cup qualification feat, Barker believes that SA football is in a good space in comparison to the country’s continental competition.
“South Africa has shown that we are a footballing force to be reckoned with on the continent. You can look at the progress Sundowns and Pirates made in last season’s Champions League, and us getting into the semi-final of the Confederation Cup.
“Our national team has qualified for the FIFA World Cup, and our U-20s did us proud by reaching the knockout stages of their World Cup, so I think we are in a good and healthy space as a country.
“That’s also why, when we play in these continental matches, we go in with the mindset that we’re not only representing Stellenbosch, but that we are representing South Africa as well,” he added.
The game will get underway at 4pm.
