CAF Name New Champions League Semi-Final, Final Dates

Sports

October 30th, 7:08pm

Asharq Al-Awsat

Raja Casablanca of Morocco have been hit by a coronavirus outbreak with 16 players testing positive. (AFP)

The CAF Champions League semi-final second leg between Zamalek of Egypt and Raja Casablanca of Morocco in Cairo has been rearranged for November 4, the organizers announced Friday. Originally scheduled for October 24, then moved to November 1, the fixture has twice been postponed while Raja battle a mass outbreak of coronavirus in their squad. Initially, two players tested positive, but the figure soared to 16 this week, and only 10 players were match-fit Thursday. Zamalek are favored to qualify for an all-Egyptian final against arch rivals Al Ahly having built a 1-0 first leg over Raja in Casablanca with Moroccan Achraf Bencharki scoring. The final has been put back from November 6 to November 27 and will be staged at the 87,000-capacity Borg el Arab Stadium on the outskirts of Egyptian Mediterranean city Alexandria. No decision has yet been made on whether any supporters will be allowed in for it. Covid-19 has wreaked havoc with the two-leg semi-finals and single-match final of the elite African club competition, originally set for last May. The matches were rescheduled for September, then put back again to October/November before the Raja positive cases caused further disruption. The preliminary round first legs of the 2020/2021 Champions League and Confederation Cup are also due to start on November 27.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2596006/caf-name-new-champions-league-semi-final-final-dates