In boost for Nabi, Chiefs have qualified for the Confederation Cup

Kaizer Chiefs reaching the final of the Nedbank Cup with a shock victory against Mamelodi Sundowns on Sunday means Amakhosi have qualified for next season's Caf Confederation Cup.

Amakhosi upset the form book beating Downs — who had beaten Chiefs three times this campaign and were in far more convincing form — 2-1 in their Nedbank Cup semifinal at Loftus on Sunday thanks to Ashley du Preez's 89th-minute winner.

Reaching the final might go a long way to buying embattled Chiefs coach Nasreddine Nabi some credit at Naturena.

It means his side will contest their first domestic cup final — a hugely-billed Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates in the season-ender — since losing the Nedbank last match against then first division TS Galaxy six years ago, at the end of the 2018-19 season.

It also sees Chiefs enter the Confederation Cup, their first sojourn back into continental football since reaching the 2020-21 Caf Champions League final against the odds, the season they also made their first progression past the group phase of Africa's premier interclub competition. Amakhosi lost that Champions League final 3-1 against then-coach Pitso Mosimane's Al Ahly. 

Ordinarily the team that wins the Nedbank Cup and third-placed Betway Premiership side enter the Confed, while the top two sides in the league go to the Champions League.

This season, Sundowns and Pirates are almost guaranteed the top two places in the Premiership — second-placed Bucs have a nine-point lead and three games in hand on third-placed Sekhukhune United, who lead a chasing pack — and Bucs are in the Nedbank final.

Pirates will go to the Champions League regardless of if they win the Nedbank final, and even if Chiefs lose that game that places them in next campaign's Confed. 

Nabi, who arrived at the start of the campaign with his own technical staff tasked with a huge mission of restoring Chiefs to former glory after nine seasons without silverware, has battled for results. He has stressed the 2024-25 campaign is to be used for rebuilding purposes.

The 59-year-old Tunisian has been saying in the past few weeks his remaining ambition for 2024-25 is to qualify for the Confed, whether with a late drive up the table from Chiefs' eighth place in the Premiership  or via the Nedbank.

Pirates reached the Nedbank final after beating Marumo Gallants 1-0 in the earlier semifinal at Orlando Stadium.