Chiefs, who won this year's title when they beat InterClube of Angola 2-1 on aggregate in the final, complained about the lack of prize money in the competition and the high cost of participating.

Chairman Kaizer Motaung hinted after the club's win that they would not defend their title. But, ahead of Thursday's draw in Cairo, they have now decided to enter.

"This competition cost us a lot of money travelling around the continent, which is far from cheap. We had little return from gate takings and no prize money at all,'' said team manager Bobby Motaung.

But coach Ertugral, who has seen his team lose three out of four league matches in the three weeks since the cup win, said the Chiefs had an obligation to defend their title.

Only the African Champions League carries any form of prize money among the three African club competitions, with the winners guaranteed US$1-million as their share from television and marketing revenue.

The Chiefs even lost out on revenue from perimeter boards in the final of the Cup Winners' Cup when the French marketing company Groupe Jean-Claude Darmon, which holds the television and marketing rights to African club competitions, demanded a minimum fee of R1-million (around US$90 000) before the club could sell any boards.

The second leg of the final at Johannesburg's Ellis Park on December 1 was played without any advertising on the perimeter boards, a rarity in modern international soccer.

The introduction of prize money in the Champions League has led to a decline in entries for the other two club competitions - the Cup Winners' Cup and the Confederation of African Football (Caf) Cup.