Stellenbosch coach Steve Barker says facing Tanzanian side Simba on the island of Zanzibar has positive and negative aspects, and suspects the team may have to use a ferry from Dar es Salaam to get there.
Stellenbosch face Simba, who are coached by SA-born Fadlu Davids, in the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup semifinals at Amaan Stadium in Zanzibar on Sunday at 3pm SA time. The match couldn’t take place at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam, as the venue is still under maintenance.
Simba SC vs. Stellenbosch FC in numbers! 📊
— TotalEnergies CAFCL & CAFCC 🏆 (@CAFCLCC) April 16, 2025
Who has the edge going into their #TotalEnergiesCAFCC semi-final? pic.twitter.com/wG6yTziE6Y
Barker said: “I think it [playing in Zanzibar] is a bit of both [positive and negative]. Obviously, a 60,000-packed seater [Benjamin Mkapa] is maybe a little bit more intimidating than say a 15,000-packed [Amaan]. I’ve been told and seen pictures that the pitch will be really in good condition,” Barker said.
“But yes, it [playing in Zanzibar] does mean there’s extra travel ... as we speak, there are no flights from Dar es Salaam to Zanzibar, so we’re trying to sort that out. We may have to catch the ferry to get across.”
Stellies head into the match high in morale after labouring to a 1-0 win over AmaZulu in the Betway Premiership on Tuesday. Barker described their victory over Usuthu as a “character-building” game. Sanele Barns scored the only goal.
“The bumpy pitch and the wind didn’t make it easy, so it was all about grinding out the result. It was a character-building game for us,” Barker said.
A massive semi-final awaits us in Zanzibar 🌴 pic.twitter.com/VKrervCHGh
— Stellenbosch FC (@StellenboschFC) April 16, 2025
“Obviously, this is a massive win. I think winning a game like this after having qualified for the semifinals [of the Confed Cup], coming back [from Cairo where they stunned Zamalek 1-0 in the quarterfinals second leg to win the tie 1-0 on aggregate last Wednesday], and playing on a Tuesday under difficult conditions is always a test of our character. It’s a test of just what we need to do if we really want to continue to want to be at the top, and competing on a different front,” Barker said.
The second leg of the Confed Cup is billed for Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium on April 27.
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