Durban City weigh up Al Ahli Tripoli proposal for two Libya fixtures

Durban City are considering a proposal to play both of their CAF Confederation Cup matches against Al Ahli Tripoli in Libya, but club boss Farook Kadodia says no decision has been made.

Al Ahli Tripoli have reportedly announced that the two fixtures will be played at the Tripoli International Stadium. However, Kadodia says the Libyan club acted before an agreement had been reached.

“It’s all premature stories they’re making,” Kadodia told the Siya crew.

“They made a proposal to us. We haven’t even thought about it. So, I don’t know exactly why they’re getting so excited about this. If anything is done or anything in between, we’ll tell you. It’s premature, yes. We can’t comment on it,” he added.

Durban City have reached the group stage of the CAF Confederation Cup and have been drawn in Group B, alongside Al Ahli Tripoli, Morocco’s AS FAR and Tanzanian club Azam.

The KwaZulu-Natal side, coached by Eric Tinkler, are scheduled to travel to Morocco for their opening match towards the end of November. They will then host Azam in early December before welcoming Al Ahli Tripoli around the middle of the month.

The return fixture against the Libyan club is currently scheduled for early January next year. The proposed arrangement would see both matches against Al Ahli Tripoli played in Libya, although Durban City have not yet accepted the plan.

Kadodia said he was prepared to assess the possible advantages, while also taking into account the demands of the domestic season.

“But yes, I want to consider it simply because I want to see what the benefits are first and whether my team is geared up for it. If my team is geared up for it and we are going to fight to win in all the games, then it’s important,” he said.

“But also, we’ve got to consider the fact that we’ve got our league games, which are our bread and butter, you know.”

The Durban club face a demanding group and must balance their continental commitments with their efforts to retain their position in the PSL.

“So, the thing is that we are in a tough group. I think it’s the toughest group, in all. And the biggest challenge we have is that we’ve got to protect our PSL status,” Kadodia said.

He added that the decision would depend partly on the players’ views and would need to be made soon because of CAF’s timetable for confirming the fixtures.

“It’s something that we seriously have to weigh the options to see exactly what my players feel and how they feel, and then I can talk further,” he said.

“I’ll get to a decision maybe at the latest by the weekend because CAF doesn’t allow you a lot of time to come up with these kinds of decisions. They want to set the fixtures now.”

Al Ahli Tripoli’s squad includes South Africa forward Fagrie Lakay and DRC Congo forward Fiston Mayele.