Orlando Pirates will return to the CAF Champions League on Sunday facing opponents whose players can earn as little as R5,000 a month, underlining the striking financial contrast between the two clubs.
The Betway Premiership side travel to Mauritius to meet La Cure Sylvester SC at the Cote d’Or National Sports Complex, with kick-off scheduled for 13:30. The match will take place on an artificial pitch at a stadium with a reported capacity of 4,500 spectators.
Former Mauritius international Patrice D’Avrincourt has provided an insight into the salaries available in the island nation’s football system, highlighting the difference in resources between Orlando Pirates and their opponents.
D’Avrincourt said the highest-paid players in Mauritius receive about 50,000 Mauritian rupees per month, equivalent to approximately R17,000. However, he said only three or four players reach that figure, while most earn around 15,000 Mauritian rupees, or about R5,000, each month.
“Talking of money, the best-paid players here get 50 000 Mauritian rupees [R17 000], and that is maybe three or four players,” D’Avrincourt toldGoal.
“Most of the players here earn 15 000 Mauritian rupees [R5 000], so I hope you understand what I mean when I say the levels are not the same.”
His comments illustrate the financial imbalance that will be present when the two teams meet. Orlando Pirates, one of South Africa’s leading clubs, operate within a considerably larger football environment than La Cure Sylvester SC, referred to as La Cure Waves SC in comments about the Mauritian side.
The visitors will also have to adapt to surroundings that differ from those they normally encounter in South African football. Rather than playing at one of the larger, more familiar venues associated with the Buccaneers, Orlando Pirates will face an artificial playing surface in a ground accommodating only 4,500 spectators.
“Pirates will come here and play on an artificial pitch at a stadium with only 4500 seats,” he said.
The conditions could provide La Cure Sylvester SC with an opportunity to make their home advantage count, despite Orlando Pirates holding the clear edge in experience, resources and squad depth on paper.
For the Soweto club, the priority will be to avoid allowing the unfamiliar surface and setting to disrupt their performance. Their opponents’ limited financial means do not remove the need for Orlando Pirates to negotiate the tie carefully, particularly in an away fixture where the local conditions may work in favour of the Mauritian team.
The CAF Champions League encounter begins at 13:30 on Sunday at the Cote d’Or National Sports Complex in Mauritius.
WIN R5 000: Take The South African’s Winter Reader Survey
