Were you too busy to catch up with all of the week’s CAF Champions League related stories? Don’t worry. Read our summary of the most interesting stories that made CAFCL news headlines.
1. Football rule changed to allow five substitutes
It appears we are getting closer to the resumption of football as Covid 19 dissipates (we hope). The body authorized to determine laws of football, International Football Association Board (IFAB) has passed a temporary rules change allowing up to 5 substitutes in a match. This will cover competitions scheduled to be completed by 31st December, 2020 like the CAF Champions League. Teams will only have 3 opportunties to make these changes in order to avoid disruption of the game.
Source: IFAB
2. Keagan Dolly could have gone to Olympiacos FC
Keagan Dolly was one of the key men for Sundowns when they won the CAFCL in 2016. The midfielder later left the club for Montpellier in the French Ligue 1, where he has not enjoyed much success.
Former Olympiacos sporting director, Pierre Issa resurrected the saga of the Greek side’s attempt to sign Keagan Dolly. He said, “We tried to bring in Dolly a few years ago but it didn’t work but Olympiacos has always been open to bringing young talent from Africa.” The Greek club thought they had matched Dolly’s buyout clause in 2016 only for Sundowns to contest the move and eventually block the transfer.
Source: KickOff
3. Egypt introduces new sports tax
A “Financial Development Fee” on athletes contracts draft law was passed by the Egyptian Parliament. The country’s Finance Minister, Mohamed Maait said this move is a necessary to raise “new financial resources” that “will not be a new burden for ordinary citizens.” The tax to be imposed will be graduated depending on the value of the contract.
The fee will start at 3% for contracts lower than $66,000 and rise to 10% for contracts greater than $666,000. This will likely make it more expensive for foreign clubs to sign players from Egypt and could reign in on the extravagance shown by Al Ahly and Zamalek.
Source: Ahram Online
4. Tunisian stadiums are not good enough
https://twitter.com/cafclgazette/status/1255509042811854848?s=19
Tunsian Football Federation (FTF) intends to see the Tunisia Ligue 1 resume. The FTF President, Wadii Jarii announced the list of stadiums equipped to host league matches should the league resume under the current circumstances. FTF wants matches played in Greater Tunis to guarantee safety of stakeholders. But Jarii also revealed that CAF had made it clear to Tunisia that it did not have stadiums able to host international matches – save for Rades stadium which bid to host the CAFCL final.
Source: Mosaique FM
5. Florent Ibenge on African coaches in Europe
Vita Club and DR Congo national team coach, Florent Ibenge is considered one of the best coaches in Africa. He has been linked with Kaizer Chiefs and a move to the Moroccan League. The Congolese was trained in Europe and bemoaned the lack of opportunities for African coaches on that continent.
He said, in an interview, “Being black or North African does not prevent you from being able to think and lead.” He stated that he was qualified and indeed applied to coach in Europe but lesser qualified Europeans got the opportunities ahead of him. “When you apply, you are only offered teams of young people.”
Source: FootRDC
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