While progressing to the group stages of the CAF Champions League remains a top priority, African Stars head coach Bob Mafoso recently said that domestic league matches, and local cup competitions are just as crucial to the club’s overall ambitions.
Mafoso shared these sentiments when discussing their exciting pre-season campaign preparations. African Stars, the reigning Debmarine Premiership champions, recently announced that their pre-season will kick off next month, featuring matchups against some of Africa’s renowned clubs. Participating club’s include current Girabola champions and Angola’s most successful club, Atlético Petróleos de Luanda, Tanzania Premier League champions, Young Africans Sports Club, and the reigning champions in the Lesotho Premier League, Lioli FC. This tournament, dubbed the African Club Association (ACA) Championship, will be held at Windhoek’s Independence Stadium from August 24 to 26 August.
In a recent exclusive, Mafoso stated that the main aim of these block-buster pre-season fixtures is to prepare and test the squad ahead of the new league season, while also assessing newly signed players. “It is going to be a long season, and the main aim is surely to prepare. There will be different types of preparations, and we are going to have up to eight matches ahead of the new season to ensure every single player is also given a chance to be tested,” he explained.
This wont be the first time the eight-time Namibian league champions have staged such intensive preparations. Last year, they competed in similar challenging pre-season encounters against Botswana side Gaborone United and the now-defunct Betway Premiership side Supersport United.
According to the Lesotho-born coach, playing against formidable clubs like Young Africans (Yanga) and Lioli will be instrumental during their CAF Champions League campaign. African Stars previous CAF campaign was short-lived, as they fell short in the preliminary rounds of the tournament, losing 6-5 on penalties against Jwaneng Galaxy, a heartbreaking moment for the Namibian champions. And this year they hope to go past that stage.
“Competing with regular participants in the tournament is one thing that can assist us because we will learn so much from them, as they are the type of teams with high pedigree that we should expect to be drawn against in the Champions League pre-liminary stage,Mafoso said. “Once we get to that stage, we will know what to expect,”
He further explained the importance of these games, highlighting how new players will thrive under such conditions. “For every new player coming in now, they feel like impressing, and the stage being set is the perfect platform to do that. It’s also for coaches to test their players and be able to correct any shortcomings before the season begins. It’s a platform which will assist everyone as a whole,”
The six-time NFA Cup champions recently won the league for the third time in a row, along with the newly launched MTC Maris Cup. While the CAF Champions League is a top priority, the coach stressed the crucial role of winning domestic titles.
“The bigger plan is going far in the Champions League; however, we can’t ignore the domestic cups. This is a very important thing for every team. Domestic cups are where momentum and morale are built, which allows us to conquer elsewhere, so we should prioritize them as much as we do with CAF,” he stated.
Engineer Hersi Said, chairman of Young Africans SC, recently underscored the importance of pre-season preparation in conquering African football while speaking to a Tanzanian publication. “Our main objective is not only to continue dominating the domestic league but also to compete at the highest level in Africa. To achieve that, we must focus on three key aspects: signing experienced players, strengthening our technical bench to match the quality of the squad, and retaining our core players,” he said.
-mkambukwe@nepc.com.na