Johannesburg - Al Ahly's hopes of having their Caf Champions League final against Wydad Casablanca postponed have ended as the Court of Arbitration (Cas) ruled in favour of the Confederations of African all (Caf) in their decision to reject the Red Devils application.
The Egyptian giants have been embroiled in a number of issues ahead of their clash against Wydad, amongst them the venue allocated to host the African showpiece finally, which is Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, Morocco.
Pitso Mosimane's men have stated that they're willing to play the final no matter where the game is held, however, the new single-legged format of the final offers their opponents an unfair advantage, prompting them to take their grievances to Cas.
“The legal team submitted all the documents and paid the required fees. The legal team highlighted the club’s demands of either holding the game in a neutral venue or postponing the game until Cas determines the case,"the club said in a statement.
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However, all their efforts have been deemed to have been in vain as Caf confirmed in a statement that the final is set to go ahead after the Cas ruled in their favour.
"The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) today ruled in favour of CAF and rejected Al Ahly’s application to postpone the TotalEnergies Caf Champions League final," the statement read.
"Caf was obliged to implement the Executive Committee (Exco) decision that was taken in July 2019 which stated that the TotalEnergies Caf Champions League winner would be determined by a one-legged final.
"The hosting of the TotalEnergies Caf Champions League final was awarded to Morocco after Senegal, which was the only other country that had fulfilled the hosting requirements, withdrew its bid.
"Caf is committed to the principles of fairness, justice and equality of all clubs and Member Associations and will at all times treat all clubs and Member Associations fairly and equally.
Al Ahly will seek to defend their Caf Champions League trophy when they battle against Wydad Casablanca at the Stade Mohamed V on Monday at 9 pm.