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Kaizer Chiefs will apparently be able to recoup some of the costs he incurred before his canceled Caf Champions League game against Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca.
The chiefs were due to face Wydad on Saturday and incurred costs of around R1m as they prepared for the trip to North Africa. But the game was eventually suspended after the Moroccans decided to reject the Chiefs’ visa applications a day after the departure date, citing fears about Covid-19 as the reason for the decision.
The African Football Confederation (Caf) said on Sunday that its organizing committee for Interclub Competitions recommended that the match be replayed in a neutral country and that the starting place, date and time will be confirmed on Monday.
The Moroccans circled the Chiefs for days before finally shutting down the game. The bosses regretted the expenses they incurred for a match that was canceled at the 11th hour and Caf has opened the door to the possibility that the Naturena club will recover part of the expense.
“The Kaizer Chiefs can present to Caf the justification for the financial losses they have incurred and we will present it to the appropriate committee to decide who should bear the cost,” Caf said Sunday.
An insider told TimesLIVE that the Chiefs generally spend between R1.5m and R2m per trip when traveling across the continent to honor Champions League assignments, but regarding leaving Morocco, they had spent around R1m when their visas were rejected.
They still had to spend money on player allowances and other travel-related costs, which contributed to the lower figure.
But the club had already spent on flights for 40 people, accommodation for three days, a delegation from the South African Football Association that would travel with the team, car rental in Casablanca and visa applications for the entire contingent of travelers.
The club had also paid for Covid-19 testing at a cost of R850 per person. The costs of the Covid-19 test included players who were not part of the travel group, and Naturena support staff.
The bosses go out of their way to test everyone, including non-travelers, to ensure the safety of everyone at the clubhouse in Naturena.
Your accountants will be very busy in the coming days as some of the costs will need to factor in potential refunds and cancellation fees before the final document is sent to Caf.
Safa wrote to Caf a few days ago and wanted to know why communication was so poor in the run-up to the game. The insider said emails were not answered, messages were ignored and there was no communication or clarity from Moroccans for days as bosses banged on numerous brick walls while desperately trying to obtain visas.
“Reference to your letter sent to CAF on Match No. 81 WAC (MOR) vs. Kaizer Chiefs FC (RSA) ‚First of all, we would like to apologize for the [inconvenience] the situation has caused Kaizer Chiefs, ”said Caf.
“As a result of the stricter travel restrictions imposed on South Africa by some countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have experienced more difficulties organizing matches in South Africa.
“Bloemfontein Celtic FC faced such complications during their trip to Nigeria to face Rivers United FC in the CAF Confederation Cup.
“Similarly, Kaizer Chiefs FC faced complications in obtaining entry visas to Morocco to play their Caf Champions League match against Wydad AC, which was scheduled for February 13 in Casablanca.
“As indicated in a communication received from the Moroccan federation on February 10, the state authorities did not allow the game to be played on Moroccan territory due to the extra-sanitary medical measure taken against SA travelers.”
The Chiefs’ next outing will be against AmaZulu in a national league game at FNB Stadium on Wednesday.
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