Playing in Africa a privilege says Barker

Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker says competing in African club competitions must be seen as a privilege and his club’s nomination for the Club of the Year at the Confederation of African Football Awards is special.

Stellenbosch are one of the 10 finalists for the award after reaching last season’s African Confederation Cup semifinal in their first season of continental competition.

They are back in the competition this season and on Sunday host 15 de Agosto from Equatorial Guinea in the second leg of their second round tie, having forced a goalless draw away last weekend.

“It's a privilege to play on the continent and then to be nominated for Club of the Year in CAF, when you look how many teams there are on the continent, is just really special.

“We want to be playing in Africa, and we don't mind where we play. I do think it builds a bit of resilience in a team. I mean, we’ve had to spend five days together, whether it's on a plane, in an airport, on a bus, at a hotel, and I think that brings the team together.

“We've brought in a number of new players, and I think actually enduring a little bit of hardship might in the long run be good for team morale.”

Stellenbosch will be looking for a spot in the group phase, which carries considerable prize money, but had to play midweek when they beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 4-3 in the league.

Asked whether clubs flying the South African flag should be playing playing games on a Wednesday before a continental competition game, Barker said: “I do think that should be a big consideration, but I do know, obviously, seasons when you have Afcon and the amount of Fifa breaks we had leading up to the World Cup qualification, that if you don't play these games, eventually it catches up to you.

“We initially tried to get the game against Arrows postponed but we were unable to. So now having played and got the positive result, then I think it plays in our favour. I think playing regularly is not a bad thing. It's just managing players and their workload and just making sure everybody's as fresh as they can be.”

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