Uganda upstarts KCCA convinced they will eliminate holders Sundowns from the Champions League

Uganda upstarts KCCA are brimming with confidence and their coach Mike Mutebi is convinced that his charges can oust African Champions League holders Mamelodi Sundowns when the two sides meet in a two-legged first round clash next month.

The East Africans scraped into this stage of the competition after defeating Angolan side Primeiro de Agosto on the away goals rule in the preliminary stage following a 2-2 aggregate draw.

Mutebi says he knows well the quality that Sundowns possess but believes his side can match them if they stick to their game-plan.

He said victory would put Ugandan football in the spot-light.

"If we want to rub shoulders with the best‚ the players must be ready for that and it's going to be a turning point in Ugandan football‚" Mutebi told reporters.

"I still believe we have enough resources to eliminate the defending champions.

"Only‚ like I said‚ if the players concentrate and understand the game.

"It's a good thing for Ugandan football and KCCA [to face Sundowns].”

• Sundowns can be to Bafana Bafana what Barcelona were to Spain‚ says KekanaMamelodi Sundowns captain Hlompho Kekana believes that Mamelodi Sundowns can play a similar positive role transferring their club success to Bafana Bafana as what Barcelona did for 2010 World Cup winners Spain. 

Mutebi has also wished his domestic rivals‚ Vipers‚ well as they prepare to face Platinum Stars in the African Confederation Cup‚ saying victory for the two sides would be a spur in the national team’s bid to qualify for the next African Nations Cup finals in Cameroon.

"I am not speaking for just KCCA but if we progress and Vipers also make it to the group stage‚ it will also aid Cameroon 2019‚" he said.

Leading the forward line for KCCA will be former Bloemfontein Celtic‚ Vasco da Gama and BidVest Wits forward Geoffrey Sserunkuma‚ certainly no stranger to Sundowns or South African football.

He scored in both legs against Primeiro de Agosto and is the obvious dangerman‚ though the side also possesses Uganda internationals Benjamin Ochan‚ Joseph Ochaya‚ Timothy Awany and Muzamir Mutyaba.

KCCA have enjoyed some success against South African sides in the past as well‚ knocking SuperSport United out of the 2009 Champions League at the same stage of the competition.

• Late Billiat goal hands Sundowns win over Platinum Stars Mamelodi Sundowns might have made life hard for themselves with the chances they missed, but in the end the Brazilians showed their class for a 2-1 victory against a fighting Platinum Stars that maintained their charge on the Absa Premiership title. 

Their only other clash with South African sides was a 3-1 aggregate defeat to Ajax Cape Town in 2001 in the now defunct CAF Cup.

Sundowns will be at home in the first leg of their tie this year on the weekend of March 10-12‚ before travelling to Kampala the following weekend with what they will hope is a healthy lead.

The winner of the tie will advance to the expanded group stage that this year see four pools each containing four sides‚ up from two groups in previous years.

- TMG Digital