Mighty Bulls keep eye on Cote d’Ivoire

political situation in Cote d’Ivoire which is reportedly sliding into a civil war as they brace for a date against Asec Mimosas in the first round of the competition.
The Mighty Bulls will host the Ivorians at Rufaro over the weekend of March 18-20 before a scheduled second leg visit to Abidjan two weeks later.
Motor Action director Eric Rosen yesterday said his club was concerned about the developments in the West African country.
“I think the match will be played over one leg according to the Caf regulations Article 5. The United Nations last week advised of a civil war in Cote d’Ivoire and warned people travelling to that country of a security threat.
“We will seek advice from Zifa and Caf on the way forward but I don’t see any reason why we should risk lives to fulfil a fixture,” said Rosen.
Article 5 of the regulations of the Champions League reads that: “Countries in a state of war or victims of a civil war in which the internal situation does not allow the organisation of Caf matches shall be dealt with as follows:
a) If the first leg is to be played outside the country at war, then the opponent which will play host for the first leg shall take the necessary measures for the organisation of the match.
b) If the visiting team shows up only one match shall be played. In a case of a drawn match at the end of regular time the winner shall be immediately determined by kicks from the penalty mark. If the visiting team does not show up the match officials will register the forfeiture of the match and the team which has not showed up will be eliminated from the competition.”
The Mighty Bulls’ security concerns come in the wake of Caf’s decision to postpone the 2011 edition of the African Youth Championships, which was scheduled to take place in Libya from 18 March to 1 April.
Reports last week said the political situation in Libya, just like in Cote d’Ivoire is fast degenerating into a civil war.
“Of course we are concerned and we are following the situation in Cote d’Ivoire closely.
“According to the regulations if there is unrest in one country, the competition will only be played over one leg at the venue of the stable team.
“It will be a one off leg and the winner will progress to the next stage.
“Zifa have not advised on anything on the situation and there is nothing from Caf,” said Rosen.
The Mighty Bulls are also hoping to play the match on the weekend of March 18-20, the same weekend rivals Dynamos are also scheduled to host Algerian side MC Alger.
“As the champions we wrote to Zifa last week over this issue asking if we could play on the 20th but we haven’t received a response.
“It’s a tricky situation because if any of the teams decide to play on Saturday, the visiting team to play the following day would want to use the venues for their practice the same time that the match is supposed to kick off.”
Zifa acting chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze was not available for comment.
Rosen said the Mighty Bulls are hoping to pick up from where they left in the preliminary round after winning 1-0 in Madagascar against Cnaps Sports to cancel out their first leg deficit and proceed to the first round after the penalty shootout.
“The first game against Cnaps Sports was an eye opener. We had a new set of players but we did well in the reverse leg.
“Cnaps Sports are not a weak team as we would have thought. They are the champions in Madagascar and command a huge following in their country,” said Rosen.
Asec progressed to the first round after thrashing Mauritanian outfit ASC SNIM 9-0.