By Obaloluwa Joshua, LAGOS
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rejected Enyimba’s appeal against Al Ittihad to have the first leg of the playoff fixture against Al Ittihad of Libya cancelled or played at a neutral venue.
The first leg was earlier scheduled for November 28, but was postponed indefinitely after Enyimba were denied entry into Tunisia because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The second leg went ahead as planned in Nigeria with Enyimba winning the tie 2-0.
CAF later announced December 17th as the date for the first leg in Benghazi.
Enyimba however appealed the decision seeking CAF to cancel the game entirely or move it outside Libya.
According to a report coming from CAF headquarters in Cairo, the appeal has been rejected and the game will now be played on the 19th of December in Benghazi, Libya.
Meanwhile, Enyimba have accepted the decision of the Africa’s soccer governing body, but are seeking a new date for the game.
“Enyimba FC has received the decision of the CAF Appeals Committee, maintaining that the Confederation Cup fixture against Al Ittihad be played in Benghazi, Libya this Sunday,” reads a statement on the club’s website.
“In the spirit of sportsmanship and for the integrity of the competition, the club has elected to accept the decision. However, considering the brevity of time to the fixture, coupled with the current travelling challenges across the continent, it is absolutely impossible for us to arrange a trip to Libya within 48 hours.
“Consequently, we have written to CAF requesting a rescheduling of the date of the fixture to December 31 to enable us sort out our visas, flight bookings, hotel reservations and other logistics.
“CAF has however advised that for the request to be considered, a written agreement of both clubs must be submitted to the board. Hence, we have written to our hosts, Al Ittihad, hoping to get their cooperation in reaching an agreement for the new date for the fixture.”
The overall winners of the contest will proceed to the group stage of the competition.
