Last season's CAF Confederation Cup semi-finalists, Stellenbosch FC, will kick off their group stage fixtures at Polokwane's New Peter Mokaba Stadium on Sunday against the Republic of Congo's AS Otohô.
Cape Town's DHL Stadium is unavailable to host the fixture, while the Danie Craven Stadium (Stellenbosch) and Athlone Stadium (Cape Town) do not meet CAF requirements. As a result, Stellies face the familiar struggle of playing home fixtures on what would usually be away soil.
Stellenbosch's opponents for this clash top the Congo Premier League in the Republic of Congo. This is not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo's Linafoot, which is a far more prestigious league in terms of legacy in CAF competitions.
That said, the Republic of Congo - also known as Congo-Brazzaville - has produced one CAF Champions League winner (CARA Brazzaville in 1974) and one CAF Confederation Cup winner (AC Léopards in 2012).
South Africa has had two CAF Champions League winners (Orlando Pirates in 1995 and Mamelodi Sundowns in 2016) - but, in fairness, has never produced a Confederation Cup champion. Kaizer Chiefs won its predecessor - the African Cup Winners' Cup - in 2001.
Stellies came close last season, but were beaten in the semi-finals by Tanzania's Simba SC. Domestically, they have struggled to match the form that saw them finish third in the last two South African Premiership seasons - thus earning Confederation Cup spots this season and last.
Stellies sit 15th in the league with nine points after 12 games. However, they qualified for the Confederation Cup group stage with a 4-1 aggregate win over Equatorial Guinea's 15 de Agosto in the second preliminary round after a bye in the first.
AS Otohô - a club based in Oyo, around 400 kilometres from Brazzaville - survived two tricky tests in the preliminary rounds. They beat Angola's Primeiro de Agosto 2-1 on aggregate in the first round and Mozambique's Ferroviário de Maputo 3-0 across two legs in the second.
Key details:
Date: Sunday, 23 November 2025 at 15:00 CAT (13:00 GMT)
Venue: New Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane, South Africa
How to watch: The match is scheduled to be broadcast on SABC 1 and SABC Plus, as per the official Stellenbosch FC website.
Team news:
Stellenbosch saw two players away over the international break, as Thabo Moloisane was an unused substitute in Bafana Bafana's 3-1 win over Zambia and André de Jong also watched from the sidelines as New Zealand lost 2-1 to Colombia and 2-0 to Ecuador.
Expected lineups
Stellenbosch FC
LB Turan Manafov | CB Henri Stanic | CB Thabo Moloisane | RB Enyinnaya Godswill
CM Thato Khiba | CM Mthetheleli Mthiyane
LW Sanele Barns | AM Andre de Jong | RW Devin Titus
AS Otohô
LB Beranger Itoua | CB Ravelli Obembi | CB Charles Atipo | RB Prince Mouandza
CM Gédéon Nongo | CM Ibrahima Traoré | CM Gosim Duvan Elenga
LW Bandiougou Diallo | ST Grâce Mavoungou | RW Klegnime Koné
Stats:
Otohô d'Oyo have faced South African clubs four times since 2019, picking up one win, one draw and two defeats. The matches came over the course of two two-legged CAF Champions League qualifying ties against Mamelodi Sundowns and Cape Town City, which both ultimately ended in aggregate defeats.
Since their 4-1 second leg win over 15 de Agosto in the second qualifying round, Stellenbosch have lost their last three games.