Mamelodi Sundowns head coach Manqoba Mngqithi has revealed why Orlando Pirates' CAF Champions League group stage qualification is important for the progress of South African football.
Since their triumph in 2016 and even prior to that, Sundowns have been putting in effort to hoist the South African flag high.
Pirates, who won the competition in 1995 have had their fair share of continental escapades, however, you'd have to go back to the 2018/19 season for the last time the club qualified for Champions league group stage; which is why their latest qualification has been lauded by one of the club's biggest rivals.
"I must congratulate Orlando Pirates. It's very good for a big team like Pirates to be in the group stages. And for South Africa to have two teams in the Champions League group stages= is big. That is when you start to maximize the chances of a South African team winning the Champions League," Mngqithi told journalists after his side's 4-0 drubbing of Mbabane Swallows.
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"It will be nice if the two teams can go to the next round, which is the quarter-finals because once we are there, anything is possible. It will be nice if we don't win it that Pirates wins it or if Pirates don't win it and we do – just like Zamalek were doing with Al Ahly in the Champions League.
"It would really be nice to get ourselves to that level where it's not only the dominance of the North Africans, but that we are well represented in the SADC region. I'm excited that Pirates made it through and I am excited that our boys made it through to the group stages," he concluded.
Sundowns find themselves in pot one of the group stage draw alongside Al Ahly, Esperance and TP Mazembe, while Pirates are in pot three along with Al Hilal, Sagrada and AS FAR.
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