Pitso Mosimane’s Al Ahly will be keeping their fingers crossed that the Confederation of African football reverts to the old two-legged final – home and away – following the rejection of the Egypt FA’s bid to host the final.
Caf on Monday announced that the final, for the second year running, will be hosted by Morocco. However, with Wydad Casablanca looking likely to face Al Ahly in the final after both clubs comfortably won the first legs of the semi-final, the development could put Mosimane’s Egyptian side at a disadvantage.
In fact, the defending African champions, Ahly, had already written to Caf requesting that the final be played at a neutral venue following reports that Senegal, the only other country that put in a bid to host the final, had pulled out, leaving Morocco as the only keen host. The Egypt FA then put in a bid to have the final hosted in Cairo, which was turned down by Caf.
“Al Ahly SC sent an official letter on Sunday to Mr Patrice Motsepe, the president of CAF, demanding a neutral venue for the 2022 CAF Champions League final. Al Ahly highlighted in the letter that the final should not be hosted by one of the countries of the four teams competing in the CAF Champions League semi-finals. A neutral venue will provide equal chances for the four teams,” the club said.
A day after the statement, Caf announced its decision to have the final hosted in Morocco. “Caf received a bid from the Senegalese Football Federation and from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to host the final of the TotalEnergies Caf Champions League 2022. The Senegalese Football Federation subsequently withdrew its bid. Caf is therefore pleased to award the hosting of the TotalEnergies Caf Champions League 2022 Final to Morocco. The final date is 30 May 2022,” Caf said in a statement.
However, the continental football mother body further revealed that there were talks over the possibility of having the final played home and away. Such a development would take advantage from Wydad. “There are currently discussions underway within CAF to revert to the old two-legged home and away final to determine the winner of the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League, rather than the one-leg final,” read the Caf statement.
Last year’s final between Kaizer Chiefs and Ahly was played in Casablanca, a neutral venue for both teams. The Red Devils put one foot in the CAF Champions League final after earning a dominant 4-0 win over ES Setif in the first leg of the semi-finals. Taher Mohamed, Mohamed Sherif, and Percy Tau were all on the scoresheet as the record holders are now on the verge of qualification to the final for the third consecutive season.
On the other hand, Wydad beat Petro Luanda of Angola 3-1 away from home. Following the weekend’s results Ahly are now thinking about the tournament’s finale as it’s highly likely that it will be a repetition of the 2017 final between them and Wydad Casablanca.
They feel that since Caf did not choose the hosting country at an earlier stage, giving one of the four teams the home advantage in the final contradicts the fair play standards. “Al Ahly expressed their full trust in CAF’s professionalism and fairness and their commitment to preserving equal rights for the four competing teams.”
