Kaizer Chiefs face fixture changes as CAF Confederation Cup return crowds schedule

Kaizer Chiefs are set for a series of fixture changes after their CAF Confederation Cup commitments were confirmed to clash with their next Premier Soccer League match.

Chiefs are scheduled to face Stellenbosch at FNB Stadium on 17 October at 15:00, but that match will have to be rearranged because their continental opponents, Red Arrows, have confirmed the date for the first leg of their second-round qualifying tie.

Red Arrows will host Chiefs on 17 October at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. The venue is 330km from the club’s traditional home at Nkoloma Stadium in Lusaka, which does not meet CAF requirements.

The second leg is scheduled to take place in South Africa during the weekend of 23-25 October. Chiefs’ home venue for that match has yet to be confirmed.

The congested programme will continue immediately afterwards. Kaizer Chiefs are due to play their first-round Carling KnockOut tie on 27 October, before meeting Orlando Pirates in the Soweto derby on 31 October.

Should Chiefs progress to the Carling KnockOut quarter-finals, that match will also have to be completed before the November FIFA international window, which runs from 9-17 November.

The club could face further disruption if they qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup group stage for a second successive season. In that event, Chiefs would need to play three group matches before Christmas.

Those fixtures would affect their away league games against Chippa United on 28 November, Milford on 5 December and Marumo Gallants on 18 December.

The clash with Stellenbosch is the first match expected to be moved, with the Confederation Cup schedule creating a run of domestic and continental commitments across October and December.