Leopards put home success first
Black Leopards have decided to put the priority on rest rather than progress in the African Confederation Cup and will have just two weeks to prepare before their next assignment in continental club competition.
The club are to return from the off-season break on June 18 and will therefore have just a fortnight to hone their plans before traveling to Sudan to face Al Merreikh.
They play away in the first leg of their fourth round on the weekend of June 29-30 and July 1.
“It is a difficult decision to make,” said the club’s director of marketing Tshifhiwa Thidiela, “but we have decided our priority is to do well in the league next season. We are very happy with saving our status in the PSL and we want to work on that for the next campaign.
“We have our players on a programme now so that they don’t return flat,” he added.
A fortnight of preparation might not be enough to get the side into top shape for a match against a tough opponent but Thidiela made it clear domestic football had top priority.
The progress of the club into the fourth round of Africa’s second club competition has earned Leopards many plaudits. They have eliminated opponents from Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria in previous rounds.
It comes after barren returns for South Africans clubs in pan-African competition in recent years.
