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Sea Robbers’ match against Sagrada Esperanca will be canceled due to fears from the Angolan team about a new strain of Covid-19 in South Africa.
Angolan team Sagrada Esperanca has reportedly withdrawn from their first round, Caf Confederation Cup second leg against Orlando Pirates.
The game was scheduled for Wednesday night at Orlando Stadium.
Bucs won the first leg, away in Angola, 1-0, thanks to a goal from Thembinkosi Lorch.
However, now there will be no return game, and the vice president of Sagrada Esperanca, Bruno dos Santos, issued a letter explaining the withdrawal of his club.
According to the letter, the reason for the recall is the new strain of Covid-19 that has been discovered in South Africa, prompting a wave of new infections.
“The risks related to the team’s stay in South Africa would be very high for the health of athletes, taking into account the magnitude of the level of contagion and the extreme lethality of the new version of the Covid-19 virus, which is prevalent in that country” . “Read part of the statement (translated from Portuguese).
The letter also mentioned the need to “fundamentally preserve the lives of athletes.”
The management of Sagrada Esperanca also reiterated its willingness to participate in the Caf matches, but only “in perfect conditions of sanitary security”
Angola recently closed its borders to travelers from Australia, Nigeria, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
However, they made an exception for Kaizer Chiefs, who will face Primiero Agosto in a CAF Champions League match on Tuesday, with the Amakhosi contingent already landed in Angola.
There has been no official news yet from the finalists of the 2015 Orlando Pirates Confederation Cup or the Confederation of African Soccer (Caf), according to Monday morning.
If the game doesn’t go through, Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer will likely see it as a respite from a hectic schedule.
The recently crowned MTN8 champions suffered a 1-0 league loss to Mamelodi Sundowns this past weekend.
Their next domestic match is against Swallows FC on Sunday January 10th. After that, they will play Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila on the 13th, Black Leopards on the 17th, Golden Arrows on the 20th, Maritzburg United on the 23rd, TS Galaxy on the 26th and Kaizer Chiefs on the 30th.
