“CAF received bids from Senegal and Morocco and, after the
subsequent withdrawal of the Senegalese bid, Morocco has been awarded the
hosting rights,” the spokesman said.
CAF did not say where in Morocco the highlight of the
African club season would be played, with Agadir, Casablanca, Marrakech, Rabat
and Tangiers possible venues.
The decision to stage a second successive Champions League
final in Morocco will upset title-holders Al Ahly from Egypt, who are likely to
play Moroccan club Wydad Casablanca in the final.
In the semi-finals first legs last weekend, Wydad beat Petro
Luanda 3-1 in Angola while Ahly triumphed 4-0 at home to Entente Setif from
Algeria.
The return matches are scheduled for Casablanca and Algiers
this Friday and Saturday.
Hopeful of reaching the final as they chase a record third
consecutive title, 10-time African champions Ahly appealed to CAF president
Patrice Motsepe last weekend for a neutral venue.
In a letter, Ahly said the match should not be staged in the
country of one of the finalists so that “equal rights are preserved”.
“Giving one of the four teams home advantage in the final
contradicts fair-play standards,” added the Cairo club.
From the second edition of the competition in 1966 until
2019 the Champions League was played over two legs.
But when Wydad refused to continue playing after a goal was
disallowed during the second leg of the 2019 final at Esperance of Tunisia, CAF
switched to single-match title deciders.
Cairo hosted an all-Egypt affair between Ahly and Zamalek in
2020, and Ahly triumphed again the following season, against Kaizer Chiefs of
South Africa in Casablanca.
Now, CAF says in a statement they are reconsidering the
decision and possibly reverting to two-leg finals.
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