Ghanaian side Asante Kotoko will play Sudan side Al Hilal in the second preliminary round of the CAF Champions League.
The first leg is slated for between 22-23 December 2020 and the return leg on the 5-6 January 2021.
The Kumasi-based team progressed from the preliminary round to this stage without kicking a ball after Mauritanian side FC Noaudibou failed to assemble a team for the second leg encounter due to coronavirus infections.
The continent’s football governing body (CAF), in a statement, stated Asante Kotoko progressed at the expense of FC Nouadibou because the latter failed to raise a team.
“The match was not played because the Mauritanian team could not meet the minimum number of players required by CAF due to the positive cases of COVID in the team. As a result, FC Nouadhibou were disqualified and Asante Kotoko automatically qualifies for the next round to meet Al Hilal”.
The Porcupine Warriors will first host the Sudanese giants here in Ghana at the Accra Sports Stadium in the first leg before heading to North Africa for the second leg next year.
Meanwhile, CAF has decided to allow teams to register more players for the competition due to the COVID-19 affecting clubs from being able to raise teams for a game.
“It should be noted that for these competitions, in order to deal with COVID19 challenges, CAF decided to allow each team to increase the maximum number of players from 30 to 40 players. Registrations are currently closed and will re-open from January 10 to January 31”, the continent’s governing body said in a statement.
“Each club will then be authorized to register a maximum of 7 new players during the mentioned period. The minimum required number of players set by CAF to start a match will remain 11 players including one goalkeeper and four substitutes”.
