The Nigeria Football Federation has asked CAF to consider postponing Wednesday’s Confederation Cup tie between Rivers United and Bloemfontein Celtic and explore the possibility of staging the match in any of Nigeria’s neighbouring countries after health authorities declined to approve a waiver for the South African side to bypass local Covid-19 protocols for visitors to Nigeria.
In addition to testing negative for Covid-19 in the country of departure at least 120 hours pre-boarding, intending visitors to Nigeria must also self-isolate for seven days on arrival to the country during which time they are to avoid all physical interaction with members of the public.
CAF had requested that Rivers United secure a waiver from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) for Bloemfontein Celtic that would see the South Africans fly into Nigeria for today’s first round, second leg tie in Port Harcourt without having to adhere to the mandatory Covid-19 measures for visitors to Nigeria.
Africa’s governing body had warned the tie would be awarded to Celtic should the return leg fail to hold as scheduled in Nigeria.
Rivers United lead 2-0 from the first leg and will qualify to the group stage if they avoid defeat.