CAF reserves Friday, Saturday for Champions League

The CAF Interclub Committee says the Total CAF Champions League will henceforth be played on Friday and Saturday for weekend matches and Tuesday for mid-week matches.


CAF said on its website on Tuesday that Sundays had also been reserved for the Total CAF Confederation Cup and Wednesday for the mid-week games.

The continental football governing body said this would be effective from the group stages.

“CAF Interclub competitions will witness a new identity regarding the broadcast of the matches with dedicated days and kick-off times,’’ it said.

CAF General Secretary, Amr Fahmy, also said the decision was to create a stronger identity for the club competitions, exposure, marketable and accessible to a wider global audience.

“We strongly believe in having a unique identity for the club competitions and also creating a rendezvous for the fans, a major stakeholder to identify with the two competitions.

“It will also increase the number of matches broadcasted by the TV Rights Holders.

“There will be a few exceptions in some special cases since it is a novelty. However, we are hopeful it will mark a giant leap for our club competitions,’’ Fahmy said.

Meanwhile, for the first time, the fixtures (date, venue) of the Group stage matches of the Total CAF Champions League has been finalised well ahead of kick-off after consultation with the various stakeholders.

The same will be replicated for the Total CAF Confederation Cup after the draw of the group phase on Saturday, April 21, at the CAF Headquarters in Cairo, Egypt.

The group stage of the two competitions will kick-off on the weekend of May 4 to May 6.