CAIRO: Sudan’s Al-Hilal club announced on Thursday that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rejected their request to approve the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Benghazi as the venue for their home leg against Egypt’s Al-Ahly in the African Champions League quarter-finals.
The Sudanese club stated on its website: “CAF has reiterated its rejection of Al-Hilal’s request to approve the Martyrs of Benina Stadium in Benghazi as a virtual home venue for the return match against Egypt’s Al-Ahly club.”
The statement continued: “CAF indicated that the rejection was based on the recommendation of the TV broadcasting committee, due to the Libyan broadcaster’s lack of broadcasting requirements, specifically the availability of an OB van with 12 cameras of special specifications, and a VAR room equipped with all replay and review devices, considered essential requirements for the knockout stage of the tournament.”
Al-Hilal added: “The club had attached the approval of the Libyan Football Federation and an agreement with Libyan television. Multiple attempts were made to persuade CAF to reconsider its decision, with the council seeking to provide broadcasting requirements, especially since the decision indicated that the Libyan broadcaster did not have the requirements mentioned in the rejection letter.”
The club further stated: “Due to the limited time available to determine venues, we have asked the continental federation to approve the Cheikha Ould Boydiya Stadium in Mauritania as a virtual venue for the match, as it was previously identified by the council for its readiness, to avoid missing the deadline set by CAF’s competitions committee.”
Egypt’s Al-Ahly, the defending champions, will host Sudan’s Al-Hilal on April 1 at Cairo International Stadium in the first leg of the African Champions League quarter-finals, with the return leg scheduled for April 8.
It’s worth noting that Al-Hilal’s home matches in the continental tournament are being played outside Sudan due to the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023.
(Anadolu Agency)
