The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has dropped the “final four” event for the CAF Champions League 2019/20 semi-finals after the Cameroon Football Federation has withdrawn from hosting the matches.
The move comes after the change in host was approved by the CAF Emergency Committee.
In a statement, on Monday, CAF announced the final calendar for both semi-final matches, as well as the finals of both the Confederation Cup and Champions League.
The federation said the semi-finals of this season’s Confederation Cup between Egypt’s Pyramids FC and Guinea’s Horoya will be played at the Mohammed V Complex stadium, in the Moroccan city of Casablanca. The second match of the semi-finals, between Morocco’s RS Berkane and Morocco’s HUSA, will be played at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat.
CAF added that the Confederation Cup semi-finals will be played as previously determined on 22 September. The final will be on 27 September at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, with all games to be played behind closed doors.
In the CAF Champions League Semi-final, Egypt’s Al Ahly will face Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca, whilst Zamalek will play against Morocco’s Rajaa Casablanca.
As the semi-finals will include two teams from Egypt and two teams from Morocco, CAF revealed that the first leg matches will be played in Morocco on 25 and 26 September, while the second leg matches will be hosted by Egypt on 2 and 3 October.
The federation has also put different scenarios to host the final match of the Champions League, which will take place on 16 or 17 October.
If Al Ahly and Zamalek win their semi-final games, the final will be held in Cairo; if Wydad Casablanca and Rajaa Casablanca defeat the Cairo giants, the final will be held in Morocco. If the final includes a team from each country, the game will be hosted by a neutral venue.
“Consequently, the bidding process has been opened to Member Associations excluding Egypt and Morocco for the hosting of the 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,” the statement read.
