CAF adopts one-leg final for Champions League, expands AWCON

Ahmad Ahmad, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), says the continent’s Champions League will now be a one-leg affair held at a neutral ground.

The president made the announcement at the CAF’s congress at the Marriot hotel in Cairo on Wednesday.

The change in format came on the back of a problem encountered during the 2018/19 second leg match in Tunisia, where Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca walked out during the game against Esperance Tunis due to the absence of VAR.

Since the inception of the CAF, the Champions League has always been a two legged affair.

The winner of the 2018/2019 season is yet to be determined as the case was taken to Court of Arbitration for Sports after Esperance lodged an appeal against CAF replay decisions.

CAF EXPANDS AWCON PARTICIPATING TEAM To 12

The CAF executive committee also agreed to increase the number of participating teams from eight to twelve for the 2020 Africa Women’s Nations Cup (AWCON).

The president said the decision was reached at its executive board meeting in Egypt, where this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is currently taking place.

With @CAF_Online’s #exco, we took a great decision today : feminine’s #AFCON will now engage 12 teams ! They only were 8 until now. #CAF #Football

— Ahmad Ahmad (@AAhmad_CAF) July 17, 2019

Eight teams had participated at the last edition of the tournament in Ghana, where the Super Falcons of Nigeria defended and won the championship following a 4-3 win on penalties in 2018 final.

Gianni Infantino, FIFA’s president, was among the top dignitaries in attendance at the congress.