Rabat – Today marks the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup Final, featuring Morocco’s club RS Berkane, and their rival from Egypt, Zamalek.
The game will take place today at 8 p.m. at the Berkane Municipal Stadium in Morocco.
Spectators not watching the game from the stadium can access the decisive match on television through the Arriyadia sports channel.
According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) website, this will be the first match to be played twice in the final of the competition following their first clash in 2019.
“Each side won 1-0 at home, but Zamalek were crowned champions after a penalty shootout (5-3),” CAFOnline wrote. The stakes are high as both teams vie for the title.
“RS Berkane will be eager to secure the first-leg victory against Zamalek, while the Egyptian giants aim to assert their dominance before the return leg,” the website added.
President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa will watch the game today along with Moroccan national team head coach Walid Regragui at the municipal stadium.
In addition to Arriyadia, beIN Sports HD6 will also feature the game. The second leg match will take place next week on Sunday.
The CAF Confederation Cup experienced several challenges, notably due to Algeria’s hostility towards Morocco’s territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in the Western Sahara.
In April, CAF announced RS Berkane as a winner after Algeria’s team abandoned the competition.
The initial altercation took place last month when Algeria’s regime confiscated RS Berkane’s equipment after the Moroccan club landed in Alger for the first leg of the match against USM Alger.
The reason for the confiscation is due to the fact that the jerseys featured Morocco’s full map, including its southern provinces.
Algerian authorities refused to hand them back to the team, resulting in the game not taking place.
After, USM Alger traveled to Morocco for the second leg of the match but pulled out from the game.
CAF penalized USM Alger with a forfeit of 0-3 for the first and second-leg matches. In addition, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) frequently rejected an appeal from the Algerian Football Federation and USM Alger to suspend the decision issued by the CAF Appeals Committee, which ruled in favor of RS Berkane.
