Hearts to have 2,000 fans for Wydad clash

by Graeme Jackson

Wednesday Oct 13, 2021. 16:00

Ghanaian side Hearts of Oak have been granted permission to have 2,000 supporters in attendance for their CAF Champions League match at home to Wydad Casablanca this weekend.

Hearts, the reigning Ghana Premier League champions, will host the Moroccan heavyweights in the first leg of their second qualifying round tie, set for the Accra Sports Stadium on Sunday 17 October.

The Phobians earned their place in the final preliminary round thanks to a 2-0 win over CL Kamsar (the tie was reduced to just one leg due to a coup d’etat in Guinea), while Wydad – as one of the CAFCL’s top performing teams in recent years – were given a bye.

In a letter sent to the Ghana Football Association, CAF explained that the organisation has taken the decision to exceptionally grant the GFA and Hearts of Oak’s request after analysing and assessing the safety and security situation at the Accra Sports Stadium.

“Accordingly, a decision has been taken to exceptionally allow the presence of 2,000 spectators given that the National Safety & Security Officer (Julius Ben Emunah) and Club Safety & Security Officer will coordinate all safety measures on the aforementioned match,” as per the GFA website.

“We kindly ask your cooperation to fully comply with the above decision, while noting that in case of non-respect, your federation will be subject to disciplinary sanctions by CAF.”

This season is Hearts’ first participation in the CAFCL since 2008 (they opted out of a possible appearance in 2010 due to financial constraints) and they are hoping to qualify for the group stage for the first time since 2006.