Chiefs, who were finalists in the CAF Champions League in 2021, have reached the pool stages of the secondary African club competition for the first time and will face Egyptian giants Zamalek, another Egyptian side in Al Masry and Zambian outfit ZESCO United.
It is a tough pool, but Angolan Miguel, who played in the competition previously with Petro de Luanda, is confident they can do well.
“It’s a moment of pride for us and for our fans to be here, representing Kaizer Chiefs in Africa,” Miguel said. “We know it’s a very difficult group, but that’s what we expected. These are the best clubs in Africa, and we believe we are one of them. We just have to keep working hard and make sure we go as far as we can.
“From my experience in CAF competitions, there are no easy games. Whether you play teams from North Africa or anywhere else, every match is tough. There’s a lot of travelling, but our focus has to be on our 90-minute performance – that’s where we can make the biggest difference.
“In these competitions, every game feels like a final. We can’t afford to make mistakes and hope to fix them in the second leg. We must go into every match with responsibility and the mentality to win.”
Chiefs have made their best start to a domestic league season since the 2019/20 campaign but playing on the continent presents a different challenge, says Miguel.
“Our performances in the PSL have given us confidence going into these CAF matches. But PSL games are PSL games, and CAF games are CAF games, the rhythm and even the pitch conditions can be different. Our main focus is to stay at the same level in both competitions and to perform at our best in each.”
“I’m one more player adding experience to this team. We already have guys who’ve been in big CAF matches, who played in the Champions League final (in 2021).
“And we have exciting young talents who have been coming through strongly. It’s a good mix of experience and youth, and I believe we have a real chance to do something special and bring happiness to our supporters.”
Chiefs were champions of the now defunct African Cup Winners' Cup in 2001, a competition that ended when it was merged with the CAF Cup to created the Confederation Cup in 2004.