Pirates set sights on CAF Champions League group-stage return

Orlando Pirates coach Abdeslam Ouaddou says qualifying for the CAF Champions League group stages is a major target this season after the club’s campaign ended at the same stage last year.

Pirates must first overcome Namibian champions African Stars in the second preliminary round of the competition. The first leg will be played at Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone on Saturday at 3pm, with the return fixture scheduled for Orlando Arena on Friday October 23 at 7.30pm.

Pirates were knocked out by Congolese club FC Saint-Eloi Lupopo in the same round last season.

“It’s very important to come back with a positive result from Botswana,” Ouaddou said at the Carling Knockout Cup launch and draw in Fourways on Wednesday.

“It’s important that this year we get into the group stages. It’s a big, big target. We took a lesson from last season.”

Ouaddou acknowledged that preparing for African Stars had been complicated by the fact that the Namibian league has not yet started, limiting the availability of recent footage of their opponents.

“But we will get some. We have already started to study them and we have some information … We have to go a little bit deeper going forward,” he said.

Pirates will also begin the defence of their Carling Knockout title at home against Milford, who are taking part in the competition for the first time.

The opening round is scheduled to begin on October 24, although the league will confirm the match dates and kick-off times at a later stage.

Pirates have already played Milford in the league this season, beating them 2-0 at home in the opening game in August.