CAF Confederation Cup
EXCLUSIVE! Abia Warriors’ Federation Cup loss saves Enyimba from CAF Confederation Cup disqualification
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Had Abia Warriors won the President Federation Cup in tie with El-Kanemi Warriors on Saturday, Enyimba FC would have been disqualified from the CAF Confederation Cup.
Entry for the registration for both Confederation Cup and the CAF Champions League close this Sunday.
Sources at the Confederation of African Football (CAF) informed Sports Village Square that the eligibility code for any of the inter-clubs competitions, does not allow two clubs owned fully or partially by the same person or body to feature in the same competition.
Both Enyimba FC and Abia Warriors are known to be owned and funded by the Abia State Government.
Had Abia Warriors prevailed over El-Kanemi, they too, like Enyimba would have qualified for the Confederation Cup.
Like in UEFA clubs competitions, CAF would not have allowed teams owned fully or partially by the same body to feature in the same competition. In this case, the CAF Confederation Cup.
It would be a different issue, if one of the two were to be competing in the Champions League and the other in the Confederation Cup.
This is stated in Section L.03 of Article 55 of the CAF Men’s Licensing Regulations (2022 edition).
In accordance with the Regulations of CAF Confederation Cup which give precedence to the national cup winner over the third placed teams of the league in case of countries that qualified to enter two teams, the sacrificial lamb would have been Enyimba, whose position would have been taken by the next available team, Shooting Stars who placed fourth on the log.
It was partly in accordance to the Section IV of the CAF Confederation Cup Regulations (ENGAGEMENTS) that enabled the fourth placed Kwara United engaged in the 2022 edition as the entry closed while the Nigerian national cup was still at the quarter-final stage.
Zamalek claimed the African Confederation Cup on away goals after a 1-0 win over Renaissance Berkane in the second leg thanks to Ahmed Hamdy’s first-half strike on Sunday.
The final ended 2-2 on aggregate following the return in Cairo with the Egyptian giants taking the trophy after scoring an away goal in last Sunday’s 2-1 first leg defeat in Morocco.
Hamdy swept the ball home after 23 minutes when Berkane failed to clear a corner but there were chances for both clubs to add more goals.
The Moroccan side finished down to 10 men when defender Hamza El Moussaoui was sent off in added time.
Sunday’s victory ensured Zamalek’s second success in the Confederation Cup. They beat Berkane on penalties after drawing the 2019 final 1-1 on aggregate.
Egypt can complete a double in the African club competitions on Saturday when Zamalek’s arch domestic rivals Al Ahly host Esperance of Tunisia in the Champions League final second leg. The first leg in Tunis on Saturday ended goalless.
-Reuters
The duo of Shehu Dikko and Okey Sylvanus Sylvanus Obi, both Nigerians have been appointed as Match Commissioner and Security Officer in Sunday’s final match of the CAF Confederation Cup in Cairo.
Dikko, the former chieftain of the governing body of the Nigeria Premier League is already in Cairo for the final match which pitches Zamalek SC against visiting Morocco’s RS Berkane.
Also already is Okey Obi is in Cairo. He is also the chief legal officer at the Nigeria Football Federation.
The referee of the match is Issa SY. He handled the quarter-final match of Nigeria and Angola in the Africa Cup of Nations last February. He will be assisted by compatriots, Djibril Camara and Nouha Bangoura. The fourth official is Omar Abdulkadir Artan of Somalia.
The Referee Assessor is Victor Miguel de Freitas Gomes of South Africa while Joshua Robert Knipp, also of South Africa, is the General Coordinator for the match.
The Video Assistant Referee is Pierre Ghislain Atcho of Gabon. Aliou Goloko of Senegal the initially designated Media Officer who was reportedly unavailable, has been replaced by Egypt’s Mohamed Elsesy.
Confederation of African Football, CAF, has adopted a Nigerian language name of its official match ball for the interclubs competitions. Ahead of this weekend’s blockbuster line-up that sees Africa’s top clubs battle for CAF Confederation Cup and CAF Champions League top honours, the confederation and its matchball producers, PUMA have unveiled a new match ball called “OLA.”
In a press statement, CAF explains that “OLA,” means “wealth,” “honour,” and “respect” in Yoruba, and “rise” and “success” in Arabic. It explained that the name was chosen to symbolize the dynamic and energetic nature of African football.
Embodying the spirit of Africa, Ola’s design is inspired by the continent’s vibrant colours, art, and traditions.
OLA will be used this weekend – starting in Tunis when Espérance Sportive de Tunis hosts Al Ahly of Egypt in the first leg of the CAF Champions League Final and on Sunday when Zamalek hosts RS Berkane in the second leg of the CAF Confederation Cup final at the Cairo International Stadium.
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