The Caf Champions League preliminary round, second leg match between Kaizer Chiefs and PWD Bamenda will now kick-off at 19.00hrs South African time on Saturday instead of 18.00hrs.
Bamenda’s arrival in South Africa was delayed due to visa complications, and as at Saturday morning, the team was yet to land in Johannesburg.
The match was initially scheduled for Friday before Bamenda made a request to Caf for the game to be moved to Sunday.
But Chiefs settled for a Saturday 18.00hrs kick-off to allow themselves time to prepare for Wednesday’s Premier Soccer League clash against Black Leopards.
“Caf has approved our proposal to play the match on Saturday 5 December 2020. We await the team’s arrival,” Kaizer Chiefs announced on social media.
With Bamenda now expected to touch down anytime from midday on Saturday, kick-off time has been switched by an hour later.
“After careful consideration, the Match Commissioner has moved the match kick-off to 19:00 this evening. This is to allow PWD Bamenda to fulfil all the pre-match processes. In the spirit of Fair Play,” Chiefs confirmed.
The Soweto giants go into the match carrying an advantage after winning the away fixture 1-0 courtesy of an Eric Mathoho late strike last Sunday.
With their Cameroonian visitors expected to get into the match without ample time to shake off jet lag, Chiefs could enjoy some further advantage against their opponents.
Winning this round of the competition will see Chiefs meet Angolan giants Primeiro Agosto who are lying in wait for a first-round confrontation.
Following a difficult run on the domestic front, Chiefs are keen to ease their woes by making an impression in Africa.
They last took part in the Caf Champions League in 2016, when they were eliminated by Ivorian giants Asec Mimosas at the first round stage and Amakhosi football manager Bobby Motaung is aware of the huge task they are facing in continental football.
“It’s a great feeling and also a great challenge. Once more we are on a bigger stage of things, we are in the thick of things in terms of coming to Africa,” said Motaung.