Mamelodi Sundowns’ latest attempt to reach their third CAF Champions League final will come with the club making the usual call to entice numbers, even though it will no longer be the traditional free entrance.
Sundowns have Al Ahly as opponents in the first leg of their semi-final at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday (15:00).
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That match will have Somalian referee Omar Artan in the middle.
It is the 17th meeting in the Champions League between the two clubs, who have won five each with six ending in draws.
The Brazilians will feel encouraged by what has transpired in recent times having not lost in the last seven matches against the Red Devils.
Of concern for Sundowns, though, is the need for bigger numbers again at Loftus.
While unfortunate events in the stands relating to crowd disturbances from their quarterfinal tie against Esperance has meant CAF prohibits free entrance, the Tshwane giants have come up with favourable terms.
The report submitted to CAF from the match against Esperance suggested free entrance contributed to the crowd trouble which was witnessed.
So, entrance for Saturday has been pegged at a mere R20 as Sundowns seek to have a huge crowd behind them.
Besides the stance of allowing fans in without charge, R20 becomes the cheapest ticket price to watch a CAF Champions League match this season.
R20 equates to approximately USD1, an amount that would not even be enough to watch a top-flight domestic league match across the continent.
While it is an undisputed fact that Ahly have mastered the art of winning this competition, Sundowns will fancy their chances after moving to their third semi-finals in a row.
The Brazilians will then travel to Cairo for the second leg on April 25.
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Of note, too, is that Sundowns are now in second position behind Ahly on the CAF 5-year club ranking system.
CAF uses this ranking system based on results from the preceding five years to determine which member association enters two clubs in its competitions, along with club seeding matters ahead of draws in both the Champions League and Confederation Cup.
