Durban — Cape Town City’s dugout for their CAF Champions League debut against AS Otohô at the Athlone Stadium this Saturday will have an unfamiliar look.
The club will be without head coach Eric Tinkler with assistant coach Diogo Perol standing in.
The game will be the start of a first qualifying round tie for City. Should they win the tie, they will advance to the second qualifying round where they will compete directly for a place in the group stage of the CAF Champions League.
Tinkler may not be in the dugout as per new rules introduced by CAF which require coaches in the competition to boast either a CAF Pro or a CAF A Licence. Tinkler does not boast either of these, though he holds a Uefa A Licence.
The game promises to be a strong test for last season’s South African league runners-up. City have made a slow start to the new league campaign. They have won just two out of their eight league games domestically so far and sit seventh in the league. After their heroics of last season they would have been hoping for a better start to the new campaign.
Otohô also promise to be no pushovers. They won the Congo Premier League last season, winning 17 and losing just one out of their 26 league games. It is vital that City try hard to pick up a win in South Africa to take some comfort before they play in the unfamiliar conditions of Congo-Brazzaville a week later.
While City’s form heading into the tie is unconvincing, they can take heart from the fact that Tinkler has a good record in CAF competitions. While the head coach will not be present on the touchline, he will have a big say in how City play.
Tinkler previously led Orlando Pirates to the 2015 CAF Confederation Cup final while also doing the same two years later with SuperSport United. He may have lost both tournaments at the last hurdle but this proved that he is aware of how to navigate games in Africa, particularly the tough ones which take place away from home.