Orlando Pirates have plenty of added motivation to produce a run to the knockout stages of the 2026/2027 CAF Champions League.

Pirates continue that quest when they meet Namibia’s African Stars at the Botswana National Stadium in Gaborone on Saturday (3pm), in the first leg of their second preliminary round tie.

Being semifinalists in 2024/2025, the disappointment was all the more bitter when the Buccaneers exited in the second qualifying round — the last before the group phase — last season.

That was the notable blemish to a stellar opening campaign at Pirates for coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, who built on predecessor Jose Riveiro’s successes with a domestic treble, including dislodging eight-time successive champions Mamelodi Sundowns for the Betway Premiership title.

Downs made up for that disappointment by lifting their second Champions League title.

The Brazilians’ constant presence in the competition’s latter stages adds motivation for Pirates to continue pushing to do the same.

Sundowns’ quality gained from playing internationally showed when they flexed their muscle beating Ouaddou’s young Pirates 2-0 in Saturday’s MTN8 final.

Ouaddou will see a good run in the Champions League as the perfect proving ground to refine the talents of his young brigade.

His side reinforced the views of both Ouaddou and his counterpart, Miguel Cardoso, that they and Sundowns are currently the two leading teams in the country by bouncing back in style with Tuesday’s 3-0 league win against TS Galaxy at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto.

That result set Pirates up nicely for their Champions League foray.

“When you are playing for such a big club, you know you have challenges all the time and one of the biggest comes soon in the Champions League,” Ouaddou said.

“We know last season we missed getting into the group stage — it’s a big target for us to get there [this season].

“And we have the target of the Betway too. So everybody is motivated.”

Sundowns, who had a bye in the first round, begin the defence of their title with Sunday’s first leg clash against Angola’s Wiliete SC at Estádio Nacional de Ombaka in Benguela (5pm SA time).

Much of Brazilians coach Cardoso's focus this season is on managing the load on his players as they compete across a staggering seven fronts in the Premiership, three domestic cup competitions, the Champions League, Fifa Intercontinental Cup and CAF Super Cup.

“We need to manage our players,” he said.

“I would like the Sundowns fans to understand that so they support our technical decisions, where here and there it will be clear that we are managing the group.

“But managing the group puts the ones [into the lineup] that have shown they are in a better condition to play."

In the CAF Confederation Cup second preliminary round, Kaizer Chiefs play their first leg against Zambia’s Red Arrows at the Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola on Saturday (3pm).

Durban City meet AS Port Louis of Mauritius at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday (3pm).