With Kaizer Chiefs through to the CAF Confederation Cup group stage for the first time, KickOff unravels the mystery of how the side could benefit from a rankings point of view.
Under normal circumstances, for a club as big as Chiefs, if not qualifying for the CAF Champions League, qualification for the Confederation Cup group stage should be a regular occurrence, as finishing third in the Betway Premiership standings guarantees participation.
However, the team has, on a few occasions, been involved in the Confederation Cup but were not able to progress further than the preliminary rounds.
Read: Moremi's rapid rise at Pirates Highlighted
The lack of exposure to such tournaments has seen them ranked 50th in Africa by CAF, with the continental mother body's system taking into account inter-continental competitions only, in a five-year cycle.
The latest developments give Amakhosi an opportunity to rebuild their lost prestige on the continent, firstly via the rankings.
CAF allocates points as follows, for both the Champions League and Confederation Cup matches:
Winners of either tournament (6 points), runners-up (5 points), semi-finalists (4 points), quarter-finalists (3 points), third in the group stage (2 points), fourth in the group stage (1 point), with preliminary stages not counting for points allocation.
Read: Downs legend slams Chiefs duo over Kasi Flava
The total points of each team is multiplied by a weighing factor (each season under consideration), with the most recent campaign carrying the most weight.
For the calculation previously published in August, the seasons under consideration were 2019/20 (×1), 2020/21 (×2), 2021/22 (×3), 2022/23 (×4), 2023/24 (×5).
The men in Gold and Black currently have only five points on the board in a five-year cycle, as they gained five points by being the runners-up in the 2019/20 Champions League final, multiplied only by 1, as per the above calculation.
In comparison to other PSL sides, Stellenbosch FC have soared in the rankings, placed 21st in Africa with 15 points. Orlando Pirates are 15th with 30 points, while Mamelodi Sundowns are far ahead, in second place on the continent with 62 points.
The benefit of being ranked higher is being seeded at the top and able to avoid bigger teams in the preliminary and group stage draws.
FIFA has also made the rankings more important, after allocating one spot in Africa to qualify for the Club World Cup via this route.