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Kekana wants away goals rule scrapped for Caf competitions
'It's working well in Europe and I think we can take a lot from them and bring it to Africa as well,' said the Sundowns defender.
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – FEBRUARY 04: Grant Kekana of Mamelodi Sundowns during the DStv Premiership match between Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns at Orlando Stadium on February 04, 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images)
Mamelodi Sundowns defender Grant Kekana has thrown his weight behind calls for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to scrap the away goals rule in their inter-club competitions.
Ultra defensive tactics tend to be the order of the day in CAF competition matches, particularly from North Africans teams if they nick an away goal which is used at the first tie-breaker over two legs.
Uefa abolished the rule at the start of the 2021/2022 season and the decision has proven to be popular, with games being open and fans subjected to entertaining football.
The Brazilians were agonisingly knocked out of last season’s champions league by Wydad Casablanca via the away goals rule following 2-2 draw at Loftus Stadium.
“Yes, I’d definitely welcome that,” Kekana told Phakaaathi when asked if CAF should reconsider scrapping the away goals rule.
“It’s working well in Europe and I think we can take a lot from them and bring it to Africa as well.”
Not one to look for excuses, Kekana believes they will bounce back from the painful Champions League semifinal exit.
“It’s obviously still fresh in our minds and we know that we were one step closer than last season so we can take positives from that,” he said.
Sundowns ‘improving and learning’
“We’re improving as a team and we’re still learning. It was a good challenge for this season and we’re also happy with the league, because that is the most difficult competition in the country.
“To win it six times in a row is not an easy, but not being able to advance (to the final) is not a nice feeling but it’s times like those that will help us grow so we are going to grow from this and we’re headed in the right direction. We take so many positives that will help us next season.
“We take so many lessons. We saw when we played in the quarterfinal, we killed the game at home under difficult circumstances and we would have loved to do the same against Wydad. We also showed our resilience and character not to concede despite being two men down, so it shows how well-oiled this team is.”
