DEBUT: Stellenbosch aiming to bolster its history as it embarks on maiden African escapade

Western Cape soccer club Stellenbosch is about to embark on a new journey in its brief history as a Premiership outfit. 

Following a stellar 2023/2024 campaign in which Stellies finished in a club record third place in the league, and also won its first major trophy, the club will now taste continental soccer for the first time.

Stellenbosch will represent South Africa in the Caf Confederation Cup, which is the second tier of Confederation of African Football (Caf)-organised knockout competitions – after the premier Caf Champions League.

This foray into continental soccer comes as a result of Stellenbosch finishing in its highest position ever in the top-flight last season, behind Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates. 

While Sundowns were peerless, Stellies impressively finished level on 50 points with second-placed Pirates, only missing out on a Champions League slot due to an inferior goal difference compared with the Buccaneers.      

Nevertheless, qualifying for a continental competition in the same season in which they won the Carling Knockout Cup (their first major trophy) is an impressive progression for a club that is less than a decade old.

Rapid growth

It all started in 2016 when Vasco da Gama, a team that was campaigning in the South African second tier of soccer (Motsepe Foundation Championship) moved from Parow to Stellenbosch and rebranded itself. Thus, Stellenbosch was born.

Then two years after the team’s change of name, Remgro — which is headed by South African billionaire Johan Rupert — took over the club.

The new owners made Stellies the main character of Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, a subsidiary of Remgro.

This was just the boost that the club needed as it earned promotion to the Premiership at the culmination of the 2018/2019 season after finishing first in the Championship – under the stewardship of coach Steve Barker.

Since its arrival in the top flight, the Western Cape-based outfit has become one of toughest teams to beat. Especially when it is at its adopted home, the Danie Craven Stadium.

The fact that the club recruits youngsters to its flourishing academy (which has produced a number of its first-team starters), as opposed to splashing the cash of wealthy owner Rupert to lure ready-made superstars, has also bolstered the club’s profile in its community.

Welcome to Africa

Now the team is keen to make its mark in the rest of Africa. Stellies began its maiden continental campaign on Saturday, 17 August. It will face Eswatini side Nsingizini Hotspurs in the preliminary round of the Confederation Cup.

Despite Hotspurs being from neighbouring Eswatini, it will play its home game in Durban. This will make the logistical planning a bit easier for the South African outfit. The return leg of the group stage qualifier is scheduled for 24 August at Athlone Stadium.

It is never easy to juggle maintaining one’s domestic form while competing continentally, as Marumo Gallants found out when they reached the semifinals of the Confed Cup during the 2022/2023 season, but were relegated to the Championship domestically after finishing at the bottom of the Premiership.

To avoid any similar struggles, Stellenbosch has been in contact with clubs such as Gallants, who have walked this road before.  

“We are speaking with Sundowns. But we are also speaking with Orlando Pirates, SuperSport. (These are clubs) who have been to Africa many times. We are also in contact with Marumo Gallants on their experiences. We also are speaking with Sekhukhune United,” said Stellenbosch CEO Rob Benadie during a recent press conference organised by the South African Football Journalists’ Association. 

“There are quite a lot of people, including administrators who are no longer in the game, who we are talking to who have gone through many campaigns in Africa. We are trying to gather as much information as we can,” Benadie stated.   

“Like any football club, when we go to any competition, we go there with the goal to win it. But if we can get to the group stage, we will have an extra six games where we will learn a lot,” the CEO added.

“The players are excited about that. We are going to have to rotate our players better than we did last year if we are to do better in the league and perform on the continent as well.”

Barker factor

Possessing a small squad compared with the likes of Sundowns, Pirates and Chiefs, Stellenbosch recently lost some key players in the form of striker Iqraam Rayners and utility player Deano van Rooyen. Though it also made some acquisitions of its own.   

If it makes it past the preliminary round of the tournament, it may be forced to add a few more names to the team in order to keep the squad fresh across all competitions it will be participating in this season.      

Benadie said the fact that they have a stable technical team – led by coach Barker – is generally a beneficial factor for their potentially historic 2024/2025 season.    

“Steve might not work at all clubs as well as he works at Stellenbosch… But he works like a glove on a hand at this club. That’s partly because of his background. He comes from a military background and he’s very disciplined. And that’s a little bit of our environment,” stated Benadie.

“He’s also grown with us. He was with the team when we won promotion. He’s the one who won promotion for us. And we’ve stuck with him. He’s the longest-serving head coach in professional football in South Africa. Though it should not be like that. It’s only been about six or seven years,” the chief executive told journalists.   

The ambition for Stellenbosch is that Barker stays as long as Alex Ferguson stayed at Manchester United. Which was almost three decades. 

If the coach and his technical staff can continue shaping the club into a force in South Africa, as they have over the past few years, then this is possible. DM