Leaving competitors behind before kickoff (5,2,3,4)
I believe the answer is:
ahead of the game
'leaving competitors behind' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'before kickoff' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'before' could be 'aheadof' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'aheadof' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Another definition for ahead of the game that I've seen is " in advantageous position".)