Vipers Sports Club stand on the brink of another historic continental stride as they prepare to welcome African Stars of Namibia to St Mary’s Stadium, Kitende, this Saturday, 27th September 2025.
The Venoms carry a slender 1-0 cushion from the first leg, earned through Hilary Mukundane’s early strike at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.
But while the advantage is theirs, the task is far from complete. Avoiding defeat will be enough to confirm their place in the second round of the CAF Champions League preliminary stage, where either ASEC Mimosas of Ivory Coast or Zambia’s Power Dynamos await.
For Ivan Jacky Minnaert, the Belgian head coach who holds a UEFA Pro License, the clash doubles as a symbolic homecoming.
Saturday’s fixture will mark his first match in front of the Kitende faithful since taking charge, and he is counting on the energy from the stands to fuel his team’s push.
“We expect a full house at St Mary’s Kitende and we know the fans will push us,” Minnaert told the club’s media team and assembled press on Thursday.
The coach, who insists his side is fully equipped for the challenge, revealed he faces the rare luxury of selecting from an entirely fit squad.
“We have all the players available. There are about 30 quality players from whom we have to pick the match day squad. There are no injury concerns,” he confirmed.
That depth is a timely boost for Vipers as they aim to banish any doubts against a spirited African Stars side that touched down in Uganda earlier this week. The Namibians are lodged at Hotel Horizon in Entebbe and had a feel of the Kitende turf during Thursday’s training session.
Inside the Vipers dressing room, captain Milton Karisa has set the tone. The winger underlined that his teammates understand what is at stake and are ready to leave everything on the pitch: “As the players, we are ready to give everything. We have the advantage, but that doesn’t matter. We have to fight and finish the job in front of our fans,” Karisa stressed.
Saturday’s game is a step on the long road back to the group stages of Africa’s premier club competition, a destination they last reached in the 2022/23 campaign.
With the narrowest of leads and continental ambitions on the line, Vipers know that unity between the squad and their supporters could make all the difference.
