final in Morocco, CAF responds to Al Ahly

On Monday, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that the final of the African Champions League will be played in Morocco next May 30. This decision aroused the indignation of Al Ahly, who saw it as an advantage in favor of Wydad Casablanca, their probable opponent for the continental crown (Al Ahly beat ES Sétif 4-0 in the semi-final first leg, while WAC won 3-1 away to Petro Atletico). CAF responded to the double defending champion through a press release issued this Thursday evening… by blaming the former management, who abandoned the round-trip finals formula!

«CAF appreciates and fully understands the complaints and concerns raised by Al Ahly SC and the Egyptian FA and is committed to respecting the principles of fairness, justice and equality of all clubs and member associations. However, CAF was obliged to adhere to and implement the decision that was taken by the previous CAF management in July 2019, that the TotalEnergies Champions League final would be a one-match final rather than the usual two-leg home and away final“, explains the press release. “In addition, CAF is also bound by CAF and FIFA rules which do not allow the rules of the competition to be changed once the competition has started.»

The body then gave details on the process which led to the designation of Morocco as host country. “Morocco and Senegal were the only countries that met the host country bid criteria, after CAF asked its 54 member associations to submit bids to host the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League final. Egypt did not submit a nomination. South Africa and Nigeria have submitted documents expressing their interest in hosting the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League but have not met the host country bid criteria. Egypt submitted a bid to host the TotalEnergies CAF Confederation Cup Final but did not fulfill the host country bid criteria. CAF then awarded the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League final to Morocco, after Senegal withdrew their bid. As previously indicated, discussions are currently underway within CAF to return to the old round-trip final home and away to determine the winner of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, rather than the one-way final“, concluded the document. For its part, Al Ahly has already announced that it will assert its rights before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).