BA set sights on Africa

BLACK Africa will play in next season’s Caf African Champions League, club chairman Cassius Moetie said yesterday.

Having already secured a second successive domestic league crown, BA are now plotting their assault on the prestigious continental competition. Moetie said the club had initially planned to line-up for the current Champions League campaign, however they missed the deadline to confirm their participation.’We will definitely be part of the next one,’ Moetie told The Namibian Sport. ‘We want to test ourselves against other champions which will be a good experience for our players and Namibian football in general.’Civics were the last club from Namibia to compete in the continental tournament – featuring in three consecutive editions between 2004 and 2007. A lack of funding has meant subsequent league winners Orlando Pirates and African Stars did not enter the competition.However Moetie said his club had the required funds to help them deal with the heavy bill that comes with being part of the annual international club football contest. ‘We have done the necessary calculations and have a fair picture of the financial implication and have thoroughly assessed our position. It will not be a problem for us financially,’ he said. While Civics team manager Paul Stramis said ‘it is very expensive to play in the Champions League’, he hopes BA can fulfil their ambition.’BA need all the support they can get. They need companies to get behind them so that they can play in that competition,’ said Stramis, who also congratulated the champions for their successful title defence. ‘We wish you all of the best in the preparations and participation in it.’After dominating the local scene for the past two seasons, Moetie also believes that his side will not be out of place amongst Africa’s elite. ‘It will be our first time back in the Champions League after a long time. We don’t want to be eliminated in the preliminaries. We want to advance at least to the second round.’We will focus our minds accordingly in order to be prepared for the challenge,’ said Moetie. ‘But we’ve also got depth and experience in the squad so I think we will cope.’The club have already earmarked potential new recruits to strengthen the squad in the likely event that some of the club’s leading stars find greener pastures. Moetie said the club would look to beef up their ranks with homegrown players only. ‘Some of our players will be going on trial in South Africa and other countries. If they go then we will look for replacements in the other local teams,’ he said.’I don’t think we will sign any foreign players. If we do then that player must be an exceptional.’