Hunt leads Wits to CAF group stages during difficult period

Bidvest Wits head coach Gavin Hunt’s leadership skills deserve all the credit. A few years ago, Hunt helped Wits lift their maiden Absa Premiership league title in 96 years and on Sunday was on hand to guide them to their first-ever CAF inter-club competitions group stages qualification.

They humiliated UD Songo from Mozambique 6-0 (8-1 on aggregate) in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC ) play-off match played at Bidvest Stadium on Sunday.

This success comes a time when off the field Wits is going through some serious financial challenges, they’ve had to release some players and some are expected to take salary cuts. But Hunt is still there to motivate the team.

Just before the season got underway, former Wits CEO Jose Ferreira had said that the club won’t be prioritising the CAFCC in this campaign as it is financially draining.

It was not something new to the general football-loving public because the Clever Boys had a reputation of not taking continental football seriously.

Hunt himself has in the past faced questions about his track record in continental football.

There have been moments where Wits were very close to making it to the CAF Champions’ League group stages in the past but fell in the final hurdle and Hunt looks back at that time and they got it right this time around.

Report by Velile Mnyandu