Denis Onyango highlights CAF competitions’ biggest’ challenge
Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper Denis Onyango has spoken out about the challenges faced by African teams who are forced to play their continental matches away from home due to CAF’s strict stadium accreditation standards.
This issue has seen several clubs competing in the CAF football competitions having to play both legs of their encounters in foreign countries as their stadiums do not meet the standards of the CAF.
Recently, Eswatini’s Nsingizini Hotspurs played their home game of the preliminary round of the CAF Confederation Cup first round in South Africa against Stellenbosch FC at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Sadly, Nsingizini were hammered by an 8-0 scoreline on aggregate. The scoreline totally reflects how playing your home games away from home can take a toll on the team’s performance.
The issue continues to unfold as another Eswatini team has to play their home game in Mzansi. Mbabane Swallows will host Sundowns at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Saturday, 14 September, in their first-leg tie for a place in the Champions League group stage.
This matter affects not only clubs but even national teams such as Zimbabwe, who are forced to play their home games in foreign countries.
‘IT’S IMPORTANT TO BUILD MORE FACILITIES’, SAYS DENIS ONYANGO ON FACILITIES CHALLENGES
The former Uganda national team shot-stopper cited that federations have to work tirelessly to get more facilities for their countries to try to solve this problem.
He further stated that the team would be disadvantaged when playing home games away from their native countries. “Of course, every team has to play at home and use the home advantage,” said the veteran goalie.
“As the coach[Manqoba Mngqithi ] said, things like travelling affect the team. But that goes back to the federations to get more facilities for countries because if you find a team playing away from home, it gives the advantage to the other team.
“But of course, it also doesn’t give people in other countries more opportunities to watch the game live. So, for me, it’s very important to build more facilities to improve football on the continent because this is our biggest challenge.
“We, as African countries, don’t have facilities to help football develop. You got a country where they use artificial ground, and it’s not right, and it doesn’t go well with the plan regarding the quality of the game and also injuries, which is more difficult to deal with.”
‘THE INJURIES ARE MORE DANGEROUS THAN ANYTHING ELSE’: DENIS ONYANGO
Onyango also expressed his concerns about using artificial pitches in CAF competitions.
He argued that these surfaces can lead to more severe injuries compared to natural grass fields, citing the example of the Bafana Bafana’s match against South Sudan in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers.
“Like when Bafana played in Sudan, the players were injured. The injuries are more dangerous than anything else. So, I think the most important thing is to get more facilities for players to play the beautiful game because we are all looking at Europe; they play on good pitches, and the stadiums are proper.
“If we are to improve the game on the continent, we need to get the facilities and help other countries gain more support regarding home advantage.”
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