Bafana Bafana’s early elimination from the Africa Cup of Nations may have disappointed the nation — but in the Betway Premiership title race, it has handed Orlando Pirates a significant advantage.
Rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns would quietly have hoped for Bafana to reach the final, keeping their key players away from domestic action for longer. Pirates and Sundowns together contributed 13 players to the national squad, while Chiefs had none — a scenario that briefly looked like it could favour Amakhosi.
However, the early AFCON exit has flipped that narrative.
Pirates now head into the second half of the season with a crucial edge: rest and rhythm. With no CAF Champions League commitments and nearly three weeks before their next league fixture against Sekhukhune United, the Buccaneers can fully reset, recover and sharpen their focus for the league run-in. Already boasting two trophies this season, their push for a historic treble remains very much alive.
Chiefs, meanwhile, may have enjoyed a longer six-week rest due to their absence from the Bafana squad, but that advantage is diluted by the fact that Pirates’ AFCON players will still return with around three weeks off — enough time to recover without losing momentum. Sitting four points behind Pirates, Amakhosi now face a January where anything less than maximum points could see them slip further out of the title picture.
Sundowns and Chiefs will also have continental distractions later this month, competing in the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederation Cup respectively, further stretching their squads during a critical phase of the campaign.
For Pirates, the AFCON experience itself could prove invaluable. Players such as Evidence Makgopa, Relebohile Mofokeng and Oswin Appollis return battle-hardened, confident and primed to elevate their performances in the second half of the season.