The CAF Champions League semi-finals format has been changed the second time with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) saying Tuesday they would be played over two legs.Home-and-away fits between Raja Casablanca of Morocco and Zamalek of Egypt and Wydad Casablanca of Morocco and Al Ahly of Egypt was once the initial plan.But CAF later introduced that the semi-finals in the elite African club opposition would emerge as single fits in Cameroon port metropolis Douala in the course of September.This layout had to be scrapped when Cameroon withdrew as hosts, citing the coronavirus pandemic and the possibility of seasonal downpours.
Egypt, Tunisia, 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have been reportedly involved in changing Cameroon, however CAF has opted for a return to two-leg semi-finals.Raja and Wydad will stage the first legs on September 25 or 26 and then tour to Egypt for the return fits on October two or 3.Should the title decider, provisionally scheduled for October 16 or 17, be an all-Moroccan or all-Egyptian affair, it will be performed in the country of the finalists.
However, a neutral venue will be chosen if
it entails one Moroccan and one Egyptian club, with countries having till August 15 to bid for the internet hosting rights.The 60,000-seat Stade Olympique on the outskirts of Tunis would be a logical impartial venue as the Tunisian capital is roughly midway between Casablanca and Cairo.CAF did not say whether or not spectators would be allowed to attend the semi-finals and remaining of a competition at first scheduled to finish three months ago.
Ahly have received the Champions League — called the African Cup of Champions Clubs till 1996 — a report eight times, Zamalek 5 times, Raja on three events and Wydad twice.Meanwhile, the structure for the CAF Confederation Cup, the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League, will stay single-match semi-finals in Morocco.On September 22, Moroccan clubs Hassania Agadir and Renaissance Berkane will meet in one semi-final in Rabat and
Pyramids of Egypt and Horoya of Guinea in the other in Casablanca.The last is set for Rabat on September 27 and all three suits will be staged behind closed doors.None of the 4 Confederation Cup contenders have lifted the trophy with Berkane coming closest when losing on penalties to Zamalek in the 2019 final.Zamalek did no longer shield the title, opting this season for the richer Champions League, where the winners receive $2.5 million (2.1 mn euro), double that of the Confederation Cup
