The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has confirmed the venue and format change for the 2019/20 Champions League semifinals and final following the withdrawal of Cameroon as hosts last month.
The remaining fixtures were scheduled to take place at one central location in a single-legged format with Al Ahly (Egypt) meeting Wydad Casablanca (Morocco) while Zamalek (Egypt) take on Raja Casablanca (Morocco) in the last-four round.
CAF has since revealed that the semi-final stage will now be played over the regular home/away format with the final set to remain as a single-legged clash at a neutral venue.
- CAF REVISES CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FORMAT
“Following the withdrawal of Cameroon Football Federation from hosting the final four, and in line with the principle of fairness, it was decided against hosting a final four in either Egypt or Morocco, whose representatives constitute the semi-finalists, thus Al Ahly & Zamalek (Egypt) and Raja Club Athletic & Wydad Athletic Club (Morocco).” a statement read.
- REVISED FORMAT
CAF CL SEMI-FINAL
Semi-final matches will be played on a home and away basis.
- First leg matches to be played on 25 & 26 September 2020 in Morocco.
- Second leg matches to be played on 2 & 3 October 2020 in Egypt.
CAF CL FINAL
The final is set to take place on no later than the 17th of October 2020 at a neutral venue which will be decided via a bidding process.
“In the principle of fairness, the final will be played at a neutral venue in the event a team from Egypt and Morocco qualify from the semis.”
“Consequently, the bidding process has been opened to Member Associations excluding Egypt and Morocco for the hosting of a one-off final. Interested Member Associations are to submit their bidding file including the venue for the match and the mandatory Government guarantee no later than 17 August 2020.
“In case the two Egyptian clubs or Moroccan clubs progress to the final, the one-off match will be played in either Egypt or Morocco with a proposed date of 16 or 17 October 2020.”