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South African, Congolese clubs are no strangers to each other

football16 October 2025 11:28| © Mzansi Football
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Kaizer Chiefs © Backpagepix

Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates head off to Lubumbashi this weekend for the first case of two South African clubs playing in the same venue on the same weekend in African club competition matches.

Chiefs are first up on Saturday in the first leg of their African Confederation Cup second round clash against AS Simba, who are newcomers to continental competition, while Pirates are in action on Sunday against St Eloi Lupopo in the Champions League.

Both games are at the TP Mazembe Stadium in the southern Congolese city.

There is a long history of clashes between clubs from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Africa with 57 past meetings. South African clubs have won 24 times, with 17 draws and 16 defeats, and the goal count is 70 scored and 62 conceded.

Supersport.com details all the past meetings, the first of which was more than three decades ago:

1993 Cup Winners’ Cup: Jomo Cosmos beat DC Motema Pembe on the away goals rule in the quarterfinal as South Africa competed in the Confederation of African Football club competition for the first time.

1994 Champions Cup: Mamelodi Sundowns were eliminated in the second round on the away goals rule after a 4-4 aggregate draw with AS Vita Club.

2001 Champions League: Sundowns drew 0-0 away at Mazembe and then beat them 1-0 at home in the group phase, going on to reach the final.

2002 Champions League: Pirates were knocked out in the second round 4-2 on aggregate by Mazembe.

2005 Confederation Cup: SuperSport United lost 2-0 away to St Eloi Lupopo in the first leg of their third round tie but then won 2-0 at home and went on to take the penalty shootout 3-2.

2007 Confederation Cup: Sundowns were in the same group as Mazembe, beating them 3-2 at home but losing 1-3 away and failing to progress.

2009 Confederation Cup: Sundowns were knocked out by Vita 3-2 on aggregate in the second round.

2012 Confederation Cup: Black Leopards beat St Eloi Lupopo 6-4 on aggregate in the second round and got as far as the fourth round.

2013 Champions League: Pirates overcame a host of shenanigans in Lubumbashi with two penalty saves from Senzo Meyiwa to eliminate Mazembe 3-2 on aggregate and advance to the group stage.

2013 Confederation Cup: SuperSport overcame Don Bosco from Lubumbashi 4-3 on aggregate in the first round.

2014 Champions League: Kaizer Chiefs lost 3-0 in the first leg to Vita in Kinshasa and were only able to win 2-0 in the return, missing out on the group phase.

2015 Champions League: Sundowns met Mazembe for a place in the group stage and won 1-0 at home but were eliminated after a 3-1 away loss in the second leg.

2016 Champions League: Sundowns lost on the away goals to Vita after a 2-2 aggregate draw but then advanced to the group stage when it was found Vita had fielded a defaulter in the earlier round.

2017 Super Cup: Sundowns edged Mazembe 1-0 to take the Super Cup at Loftus Versfeld with a late penalty from Brazilian defender Ricardo Nascimento.

2017 Champions League: Sundowns beat Vita 3-1 away in Kinshasa and drew 1-1 with them at home in the group stage as they advanced to the quarterfinals.

2017 Confederation Cup: SuperSport finished runners-up to Mazembe in the final 1-2 on aggregate, having drawn with them twice earlier when they were in the same group.

2020-21 Champions League: Sundowns won both home and away against Mazembe in the group competition but then got knocked out in the quarterfinal.

2020-21 Confederation Cup: Bloemfontein Celtic’s first-round debut on the continent saw them win 2-0 away but then lose at home and have to edge past Maniema Union on post-match spot kicks.

2021-22 Champions League: Sundowns had to get past Maniema in the second round to qualify for the group stage and did so 4-2 on aggregate.

2021-22 Champions League: AmaZulu, under Benni McCarthy, were making their African club competition debut and upset Mazembe on the away goals rule to reach the group stage at the first time of asking.

2021-22 Confederation Cup: Marumo Gallants had back-to-back Congolese opponents in their debut, beating Vita 3-2 on aggregate but then going out to Mazembe 0-1 on aggregate.

2022-23 Confederation Cup: Gallants beat St Eloi Lupopo twice in the group stage and went on to reach the semifinals but also got relegated from the league. Royal AM made their debut in African competition and got to the third round before Mazembe beat them both home and away.

2023-24 Champions League: Sundowns lost in Lubumbashi to Mazembe in their first group meeting but beat them in Pretoria to go through and reach the semifinals.

2023-24 Confederation Cup: Sekhukhune’s first foray into CAF competition was a 3-1 home win over St Eloi Lupopo in the first round and a 1-1 draw away in the return as they went through to the group stage.

2024-25 Champions League: Maniema got through to the group phase for the first time and handed Sundowns a shock with a 0-0 draw in Pretoria but a 2-1 win for the South Africans in Kinshasa in the return saw them go through and eventually get to the final.

2024-25 Confederation Cup: New boys Stellenbosch made it all the way to the semifinal, which included a second round triumph over Vita 3-1 on aggregate during which their coach Abdeslam Ouaddou quit.

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