Venue dispute overshadows CAF Confederation Cup title decider
A CAF Confederation Cup final venue dispute has overshadowed the second leg between Simba of Tanzania and Renaissance Berkane of Morocco in the Indian Ocean island of Zanzibar on Sunday. HT Image Hosts Simba, who trail 2-0 after the first leg last weekend, wanted to stage the return match at the 60,000-seat Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar es Salaam. But an inspection of the national stadium in the Tanzanian commercial capital by the Confederation of African Football ruled that it was unsuitable for the title decider. Instead, CAF ordered the second leg to be played at the Amaan Stadium, a 15,000-seater in Zanzibar, which is a three-hour ferry journey from Dar es Salaam. A popular tourist resort, Zanzibar is a Tanzanian archipelago off the coast of east Africa and consists of two main islands and many small ones. The origins of the venue dispute can be traced to Benjamin Mkapa Stadium last month where Simba beat Egyptian visitors Al Masry on penalties in a quarter-final after a 2-2 aggregate tie. A pitch littered with divots …
