THE delayed Caf Confederation Cup second leg match between Bloemfontein Celtic and Nigeria's Rivers United FC have been moved to the weekend of 22-24 January at a neutral venue.
United, a west African club based in Port Harcourt, were due to host Celtic at the Adokiye Amiesimaka Stadium on 6 January, but the return leg had to be postponed after the command by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that Phunya Sele Sele were forced to be quarantined for seven days before the match.
But Celtic declined to be isolated which led to the match being moved and the matter referred back to the continental football controlling body for a decision.
Caf responded on Monday giving consent for the match to be played at a neighbouring country to Nigeria with more lenient Covid-19 protocols regarding travelers coming from South Africa.
With the rising number of Coronavirus cases in South Africa, most international countries are prohibiting entry to visitors from Mzansi, which begs a question which country will Nigeria choose and agree to host Celtic and United.
"The Nigeria Football Federation will decide and communicate the venue, date, kick-off time and the approval of the neutral host association by 12 of January, at the latest," Caf's Acting General Secretary, Abdelmounaïm Bah, said in a statement.
"The designations of the match officials are maintained. Rivers United will take charge of all organisational expenses in the neutral country as the host club and to ensure that the visiting team has the approvals for the entry in the neutral country."
The African football body cautioned that with player registration period having opened on Sunday (Nigeria), Celtic and United will not be allowed to field any of the players registered during this period for this match.
The January transfer window in South Africa will open next Monday.
Rivers United hold a 2-0 cushion over Celtic after having defeated the South Africans at home on 23 December last year with goals coming from Godwin Aguda and Fortune Omoniwari.
Celtic CEO Khumbulani Konco said Caf's decision was fair and they are looking forward to the date.
"It's all fine with us," said the Celtic boss."About the result, anything is still possible and we can recover."
