ydadCasablanca
wona thirdAfrican
ChampionsLeague
astheyendeda
record-breakingbid
byEgypt’sAlAhly
inthe final,andat theendof another
tournamentmangledbyadministrative
machinations.
ThechoiceofCasablancatohost
theone-off finalwascloudedin
Machiavelliandeceitandproved
anotherexampleofthe Confederation
ofAfrican Football shootingitselfin
thefootwithoutprovocation.
WydadCasablanca liftthe
trophyon home soil
Yetchoiceofhostforfinalcausescontroversy
W
Thiswas thethird ChampionsLeague
finaltobedecidedata neutral venue
after CAFchangedfromthe triedand
testedformatoftwo home-and-away
legsina bidtoreplicatethesuccess of
theirUEFAequivalent.
ButthecontrastwithEurope in terms
offan travelandresourcesarestarkand
biddingbyAfricancitiestohostthe final
hasnotproven plentiful, in contrastto
thewidearrayof optionsEuropean
football’scontrollingbodyhaveannually.
WhileUEFAdecideonthe venues of
itsEuropeanclubcompetitionfinalswell
inadvance,CAF left thedecisionuntil
theChampionsLeaguewas alreadyat
thesemi-finalstage– justthreeweeks
before thefinal,whenitwas already
clearthatAlAhlyandWydadwould
contest thefinal.
Ina statement,CAF declared
Moroccowerethe only football
associationtobidforthematchafter
Senegalwithdrew.A vote of theCAF
executive committeegave it to
Moroccodespite thefactthatthere
weretwoCasablancateamsinthe
ChampionsLeaguewhilenonefrom
Senegal,makingDakartheperfect
neutral venue.
CAFChampionsLeague
MARKGLEESON
74 WORLDSOCCER
