COMMENT | Gavin Hunt, not Stellenbosch, under the microscope as CAF stakes rise in the Cape

When Stellenbosch FC host CR Belouizdad on Sunday with their CAF campaign delicately poised, the pressure will appear evenly shared. In truth, it rests far heavier on the shoulders of Stellenbosch coach Gavin Hunt than on the badge stitched across the players’ chests.

On paper, Stellies are still alive. Second on the group standings with four points after three matches, they remain in control of their destiny. 

Yet the margins are unforgiving. Just one point separates them from bottom-placed Otoho d’Oyo of the Republic of Congo, a reminder that continental football rarely rewards comfort or reputation. One poor result can undo months of careful planning.

For Stellenbosch as a club, simply being here still represents progress. This is a side that has quietly grown into continental regulars, returning to Africa in back-to-back seasons and shedding the novelty tag that once followed them. 

Their presence no longer surprises; expectations now accompany them. But even then, the club’s broader CAF journey is still in its early chapters.

Hunt’s story, however, is long written and still missing its African flourish.

At 61, Hunt is South African football royalty domestically. League titles, cup triumphs, and an unmatched reputation for building teams from limited resources define his career. 

Yet CAF competition has remained the stubborn blind spot on an otherwise glittering CV. Attempts with SuperSport United, Bidvest Wits and Kaizer Chiefs have yielded respectable runs, not defining moments.

The closest he came to continental relevance was guiding Kaizer Chiefs to the quarter-finals of the CAF Champions League in 2021. 

Even that run was framed more by Chiefs’ novelty at that stage than by Hunt stamping authority on the continent. Recognition in Africa is cruel that way: it rarely honours effort, only milestones.

That reality is what sharpens the focus on Hunt now. He did not arrive at Stellenbosch to learn continental football; he arrived to elevate it.

Walking into a dressing room already accustomed to CAF demands, Hunt inherited players who know the travel, the tempo shifts and the mental strain. That raises the bar. This is no rebuilding exercise, but a test of leadership, clarity and belief.

CAF football is unforgiving to those who lean on reputation. It demands adaptability, emotional control and moments of bravery when qualification hangs by a thread. 

Hunt knows this better than most, which perhaps explains the weight he carries into the CR Belouizdad fixture. It is not merely about three points; it is about credibility.

For Stellenbosch, elimination would sting but not scar. For Hunt, it would extend a narrative that refuses to fade — that domestic excellence has never fully translated beyond South Africa’s borders.

That is why this match matters more to the man in the technical area than to the club itself. 

CAF recognition, the kind that reshapes legacies, remains elusive. And in the coming weeks, Hunt has another chance to chase it.