FC Platinum anxiously await today’s Caf draw Norman Mapeza
 Norman Mapeza

Norman Mapeza

Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
CASTLE Lager Premier Soccer League champions, FC Platinum, will know their 2018 Total Caf Champions League opponents when the draw is conducted in the Egyptian capital Cairo today.

The Zvishavane outfit will be the country’s sole representative in the lucrative club competition after clinching their maiden league title in the just ended season and unless they receive a bye in the preliminary round, coach Norman Mapeza’s boys will get their African safari underway on the weekend of February 9-11, 2018, with the second leg set for February 16-18.

If they progress, the first round first leg encounter will be played over the weekend of March 9-11 and the second leg will be held on March 16-18.

Group stage matches will get underway over the weekend of May 4-6, with the quarter-finals set for late September and early October, the same month semi-finals will be held.

FC Platinum have already made known their intentions of qualifying for the group stage of the tournament.

Pure Platinum Play have gone into overdrive in their hunt for a lethal striker after turning to West Africa to get Cameroonian teenager Albert Eonde and Ghana’s Ibrahim Dauda, who was expected from Accra yesterday.

The platinum miners are bracing for their second dance in the Champions’ League and have decided to look beyond the borders after they encountered frustrations on the domestic market.

It is, however, believed that 2017 Golden Boot winner Dominic Chungwa might also be joining the platinum miners from former champions, Caps United.

Although they won the league with 72 points; two ahead of runners-up Dynamos, their success was largely hinged on a mean defence, which let in only 15 goals from 34 matches.

In comparison, their attack only banged in 40 goals, a distant fourth behind Dynamos (55), Ngezi Platinum (54) and fifth-placed Caps United with 43 goals.

Mapeza had acknowledged that goals were getting hard to come by for them during the course of the season and they had to find a solution before venturing into the African adventure next year.

The Zvishavane side have to speed up their hunt because of the festive season holidays and the need to beat the December 31 initial deadline to register players with Caf.

While the side will be busy looking for new players, it will also be on the table negotiating for contract extensions for some key players whose contracts expire at the end of this month.

Soccer Star of the Year, Rodwell Chinyengetere, first runner-up Kevin Moyo, goalkeeper Wallace Magalane as well as midfielders Gerald Takwara, Bret Amidu and Charles Sibanda’s contracts expire at the end of December.

However, the lure of the African Safari will be a big plus for the club, as it is likely to help the platinum miners retain almost all the players.

@skhumoyo2000

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