2020 CAF Confederation Cup final explained

2020 CAF Confederation Cup Final
Event:2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup
Team1:Pyramids
Team1association:
Team1score:0
Team2:RS Berkane
Team2association:
Team2score:1
Stadium:Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat
Man Of The Match1a:Abdallah El Said
(Pyramids)
Referee:Sidi Alioum (Cameroon)[1]
Attendance:0
Weather:Partly cloudy
15°C
77% humidity[2]
Previous:2019
Next:2021

The 2020 CAF Confederation Cup Final was the final of the 2019–20 CAF Confederation Cup, the 17th edition of Africa's secondary club football tournament organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), under the current CAF Confederation Cup title after the merger of CAF Cup and African Cup Winners' Cup.

For the first time, the final was played as a single match at a venue pre-selected by CAF.[3] It was originally scheduled to be played on 24 May 2020 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco.[4] However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the match was postponed and was played on 25 October 2020, as part of a Final Four format played as single matches in Morocco.

RS Berkane defeated Pyramids and won 1–0, earning themselves their first ever CAF Confederation Cup and African trophy. They also earned the right to play against the 2019–20 CAF Champions League winners in the 2020–21 CAF Super Cup.

Teams

TeamZonePrevious finals appearances (bold indicates winners)
PyramidsUNAF (North Africa)None
RS BerkaneUNAF (North Africa)1 (2019)

Venue

The CAF Executive Committee decided in June 2019 that the final would be played as a single match. One member association submitted bids during the period of 11–20 February 2020:[5]

Bidding associations for the 2020 CAF Confederation Cup Final!Country!Stadium!City!Capacity!Notes
Prince Moulay Abdellah StadiumRabat53,000Hosted matches at the 1988 African Cup of Nations
The CAF Emergency Committee made the final decision on 12 March 2020, and Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat was officially announced as the final venue on 16 March 2020.

Postponement

On 18 April 2020, the CAF announced that the final had been postponed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

On 3 August 2020, the CAF announced that the final would be played on 27 September 2020.[7]

On 10 September 2020, the CAF announced that at the request of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation, the final was rescheduled to 25 October 2020.[8]

Road to the final

Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away; N: neutral).

PyramidsRound RS Berkane
Confederation Cup
OpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legQualifying roundsOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg
Étoile du Congo5–14–1 (H)1–0 (A)Preliminary roundBye
CR Belouizdad2–11–1 (H)1–0 (A)First round Ashanti Gold4–32–3 (A)2–0 (H)
Young Africans5–12–1 (A)3–0 (H)Play-off round Fosa Juniors5–20–2 (A)5–0 (H)
OpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult
Enugu Rangers3–1 (A)Matchday 1 ESAE3–0 (H)
FC Nouadhibou6–0 (H)Matchday 2 Zanaco1–1 (A)
Al-Masry2–1 (A)Matchday 3 DC Motema Pembe3–0 (H)
Al-Masry2–0 (H)Matchday 4 DC Motema Pembe0–1 (A)
Enugu Rangers0–1 (H)Matchday 5 ESAE5–1 (A)
FC Nouadhibou1–0 (A)Matchday 6 Zanaco1–1 (H)
Group A winnersFinal standingsGroup C winners
OpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legKnockout stageOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg
Zanaco3–13–0 (A)0–1 (H)Quarter-finals Al-Masry3–22–2 (A)1–0 (H)
Horoya2–0 (N)Semi-finals Hassania Agadir2–1 (N)

Format

The final is played as a single match at a pre-selected venue, with the winner of semi-final 1 according to the knockout stage draw designated as the "home" team for administrative purposes. If scores are level after full-time, extra time is not played and the winners are decided by a penalty shoot-out (Regulations Article III. 28).[9]

Officials

On 24 October 2020, CAF named Cameroonian referee Sidi Alioum as the referee for the match. Alioum is a member of the CAF Elite and took charge of numerous important matches in competitions organized by CAF, including the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations final. His compatriot Elvis Guy Noupue was chosen as one of the assistant referees, along with Chadian official Issa Yaya, while Eric Otogo-Castane of Gabon was chosen as the fourth official.[1] Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe was named the video assistant referee and was assisted by Haythem Guirat from Tunisia and Gerson Emiliano dos Santos from Angola.[1]

Match

width=25!width=25
GK 1
CB 3 Abdallah Bakry
CB 5 Ali Gabr
RB 12
LB 2
CM 4
CM 14 Nabil Emad
AM 19 Abdallah El Said (c)
LM 21
RM 17
CF 7 Eric Traoré
Substitutes:
GK 16 Ahmed El Shenawy
MF 6 Mohamed Fathy
MF 15
MF 18
FW 9
FW 26 Mohamed El Gabbas
FW 30 Ibrahim Adel
Manager:
Ante Čačić
width=25!width=25
GK 1 Zouheir Laâroubi
RB 4 Issoufou Dayo
CB 14
LB 25 Mohamed Aziz (c)
CM 8
CM 21
RM 23 Omar Namsaoui
LM 22
RW 7 Hamdi Laachir
LW 9
CF 10
Substitutes:
GK 12 Hamza Hamiani
DF 15
DF 29 Mohamed Farhane
MF 17
FW 19
FW 24 Youssef Zghoudi
FW 27 Alaedine Ajaray
Manager:
Tarik Sektioui
Man of the Match:
Abdallah El Said
(Pyramids)

Assistant referees


Elvis Guy Noupue (Cameroon)
Issa Yaya (Chad)
Fourth official


Eric Otogo-Castane (Gabon)
Video assistant referee


Janny Sikazwe (Zambia)
Assistant video assistant referees


Haythem Guirat (Tunisia)
Gerson Emiliano dos Santos (Angola)

Match rules
  • 90 minutes.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores level.
  • Seven named substitutes, of which up to five may be used.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: أليوم أليوم يقود موقعة بيراميدز وبركان . CAF announce Alioum Alioum as the main referee for Pyramids and RS Berkane clash . Arabic . . 24 October 2020 . 24 October 2020.
  2. Web site: Weather History for Salé, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco . . . 7 November 2020.
  3. Web site: Three bids submitted for the 2019/20 Interclub finals. CAF. 6 March 2020.
  4. Web site: Douala, Rabat named host cities for Interclubs 2019/20 final. CAF. 16 March 2020.
  5. Web site: Three bids submitted for the 2019/20 Interclub finals. CAF. 6 March 2020.
  6. Web site: CAF Interclubs finals postponed. CAF. 18 April 2020.
  7. Web site: Updated calendar for CAF Interclub competitions. CAF. 3 August 2020.
  8. Web site: Decisions of CAF Executive Committee meeting – 10 September 2020. CAF. 10 September 2020.
  9. Web site: CAF Confederation Cup regulations . CAF . 2020-03-06 . 2021-10-25 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211025160655/https://images.cafonline.com/image/upload/caf-prd/cfq1az7yhj11wqflp7yi.pdf . dead .