Kaizer Chiefs undecided over Champions League involvement

Kaizer Chiefs remain undecided over their involvement in the 2015 CAF Champions League, amid reports they could be set to pull out.

The South African giants finished as runners-up to Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2013-14 Premier Soccer League, which sees the club qualify for the 2015 edition of the elite continental club competition.

However, there have been several media reports that claim the club may reject the chance to play in the tournament due to concerns over the depth of their squad.

Chiefs director Jessica Motaung fanned speculation at a press conference in July when she said: “We have received the invitation to play in the CAF Champions League. We will announce in due course.”

This statement was corroborated by Chiefs’ corporate communications manager Vina Maphosa on Wednesday when he told Times Live: “The statement that we have issued on July 23 has not changed as the deadline to confirm or not to confirm is at the end of September.

“The club has received a formal invitation to participate in the 2015 CAF Champions League and is considering the invite at this stage.”

Under the current CAF rules and regulations, any club that withdraws before the competition gets under way faces a fine of $1,500. The rules also specify that if a club withdraws after the fixtures are established in September, the team would face a ban of three years from all CAF inter-club competitions.