5 Biggest Derbies in African Club Football Ahead of Pirates vs Kaizer Chiefs Tie
- The first Soweto Derby for the 2024-25 season in the Betway Premiership will take place on Saturday, February 1, 2025, at the FNB Stadium
- The two Soweto-based clubs, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, will battle for all three points in the Premier Soccer League, while they also work on giving their respective fans the bragging rights
- This clash between the two PSL giants remains one of the biggest club derbies in African football, but it fail to hold to top place in Briefly News rankings
African club football also has some of the biggest derbies in the world just like the Madrid derby, Manchester derby, Milan derby, Merseyside derby, North London derby, and others in Europe.
Derbies are football matches that involve clubs based in the same city and the odds are always high, especially for the fans who want to hold the bragging rights of "we own the city".
Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs are up against themselves this weekend in the first Soweto derby this season in the Betway Premiership.
Source: Getty Images
Both sides are gunning for all three points, but it's the Sea Robbers who need it the most as they working closely on ending Mamelodi Sundowns dominance in the league since 2017-18 season.
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Ahead of the clash, Briefly News takes a look at the top five biggest derbies in African club football.
Top 5 biggest derbies in African club football
5. Dar Es Salaam Derby
Dar Es Salaam derby is between two top sides in the Tanzanian league, Young Africans (Yanga SC) and Simba SC.
The two clubs are based in Tanzania's capital Dar Es Salaam, and they battle against each other in one of the biggest rivalries in African club football.
The derby spread beyond Tanzania, as fans throng into the country's capital from different places, especially East Africa.
The Kariakoo Derby as it is also called dates back to the mid-1960s, when the two clubs first faced each other in the league.
4. Tunis Derby
The Tunis derby is one of the biggest rivalries in North Africa, even though it's not the biggest derby in the region, it also has a place in top battles in African club football.
The derby is contested between two clubs based in Tunis, Esperance de Tunis and Club Africain. The match is played at the Hammadi Agrebi stadium due to its big capacity and could contain the large number of fans who want to see the match.
The derby between the Tunis clubs started during the 1923–1924 season when both sides when in the same division. The last meeting between both sides ended in a 2-2 draw in December 2024.
3. Casablanca Derby
The whole city standstill when Raja Athletic Club and Wydad Athletic Club face off in the Casablanca derby in the Moroccan league.
It's one of the fiercest rivalries in African club football as the stadium atmosphere during the match is always terrifying.
The two clubs have won three CAF Champions League each, but the Red Castles have more league titles than the Green Eagles.
Rulani Mokwena had his first experience of the derby this season, but the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Source: Getty Images
2. Soweto derby
The Soweto derby is the biggest club football match in South Africa, even in the DStv Diski Challenge it is a fiercely contested tie.
The match is between two sides based in Soweto, Johannesburg, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, with the former rated as arguably the biggest club in South Africa due to their large fanbase and history even when the latter have been around much longer.
Even with Mamelodi Sundowns' dominance in the Betway Premiership, the match between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates is always the most anticipated tie in the league every season.
The match was first contested on 24 January 1970, and it is sometimes called "El Kasico". The last match between them ended 3-2 in favour of the Sea Robbers, but the game on Saturday could change that.
1. Cairo derby
The Cairo derby is arguably the biggest in African club football as the two sides based in Egypt's capital, Al Ahly and Zamalek, battle for who holds the key to the city.
Match between both Egyptian clubs has led to violence several times, which led to some of the games being played behind closed doors to avoid fights.
Al Ahly are regarded as the biggest club in Africa and in Egypt due to their history and the number of titles they've won.
Zamalek on the other hand are not close to the Red Devils, but they are not ready to give their city rivals the keys to Cairo as they continue to battle.
Al Ahly have won 43 league titles compared to Zamalek's 14. In the CAF Champions League, the Red Devils also dominated it with 11 titles won.
Kaizer Chiefs dealt huge blow ahead of Soweto derby
Briefly News earlier reported that Kaizer Chiefs suffered a massive blow ahead of their clash against Orlando Pirates in the first Soweto derby this season.
The Glamour Boys will be without one of their star players for the clash against their bitter rivals at the FNB Stadium this weekend.
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Source: Briefly News
