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Dynamos players celebrate the goal that sank Highlanders during a match at the National Sports Stadium. – Picture by John Manzongo

Sikhumbuzo Moyo Senior Sports Reporter
NORMAN Mapeza will lead FC Platinum in the Caf Confederation Cup following their recent victory in the 16-team knockout tournament, the Chibuku Super Cup.

But Zimbabwe will not be represented in next year’s Caf Champions League competition after Castle Lager Premiership champions Dynamos decided against participating citing an unsound financial position.

“We won’t be having any representatives in the Caf Champions League after our league title winners Dynamos decided against it due to financial reasons. I’m however happy to announce that FC Platinum will be carrying the country’s flag high in the Caf Confederation Cup,” said Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela yesterday.

Zimbabwe had two slots for the Champions League and the Confederation Cup. The number of slots slipped down from four in 2012 in which four clubs Dynamos, FC Platinum, Hwange and Motor Action took part in the Champions League and the Confederation Cup.

Slots are allocated based on the performance of the representatives of the national associations in the Orange Caf Champions League and Orange Caf Confederation Cup covering the 2009 to the 2013 seasons.

Meanwhile, the 2014 rankings for Caf club competitions have been released. The rankings serve as the criteria for the 2015 Caf club competitions, with the top 12 countries entitled to enter two representatives each in the two competitions.

This means that the league champions and the runners-up are eligible to participate in the Caf Champions League, while the winner of the domestic cup (FA Cup) and the third-place team in the national championship are entitled for the Caf Confederation Cup.

A notable observation for the 2014 ranking is the presence of South Africa in the top 12, while Ghana has dropped to 14th place. South Africa made the mark largely due to the performance of Orlando Pirates, who reached the final in the 2012 edition of the CAF Champions League.

The ranking is achieved based on the scale below with points awarded to the stage reached by a participating club.