CAF CC: Rayon Sports ‘unaware’ of possible match suspension, says Namenye

Rayon Sports’ Secretary General Patrick Namenye has said that the club has not been informed about potential suspension of their CAF Confederation Cup second round first leg encounter with Al Hilal Benghazi due at Benina Martyrs of February Stadium on Friday, September 15, despite floods devastating the North African country. Namenye, who is part of the team that traveled to Libya for the match, made the comments hours after reports suggested that Al Hilal Benghazi requested the African football governing body (CAF) to postpone the match to a later date as ‘catastrophic’ storm Daniel continues to take lives of thousands of Libyans. More than 5,000 people are presumed dead and 10,000 missing after heavy rains in north-eastern Libya caused two dams to collapse, surging more water into already inundated areas. Initial media reports indicated that CAF could consider postponing the match but Namenye made it clear that his club was only informed that they will observe a minute of silence before the match in honour of Libyans who lost their lives to the violent storm. ALSO READ: Rayon Sports exempted from Confederation cup first preliminary round We haven’t received a letter [suspending the match]. What we know is that they requested to observe a minute of silence in honour of those who were affected,” Rayon Secretary General Patrick Namenye told Times Sport. ALSO READ: CAF CC: Youssef ruled out of Al Hilal Benghazi clash through injury According to an official CAF Communique that Times Sport has seen, the two teams were invited for a pre-match technical meeting that will take place at the Berenice Tourist Hotel on Thursday, September 14, at 11:00 am. Rayon secured an automatic qualification to the second preliminary stage of the competition after being exempted from the previous round whereas Al Hilal Benghazi saw off Homeboyz FC of Kenya from the first round with a 4-1 aggregate victory.