The Confederation of African Football (CAF) have announced that the first leg games of the preliminary round of the 2018 Champions League and the Confederation Cup would be played on 9, 10 or 11 February, the confederation said in a statement on Thursday. The second leg games of the preliminary round of the 2018 Champions League and the Confederation Cup would be played on 23, 24 and 25 February. CAF also announced that the African Super Cup game between the CAF Champions League winner, Wydad Casablanca of Morocco and Confederation Cup champions TP Mazembe of Congo, on (23, 24 or 25) February. The first leg games of the 32nd round of the two tournaments will be played on 6 and March, while the second leg to be played on 16, 17 and 18 of the same month. The Group stage games of the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup will start on 4 May as the final round will be played on 29 August. The first leg of the quarterfinal games of the two tournaments will be played on 14, 15 or 16 September while the second leg will be played a week after the first leg finished. The first leg games of the two tournaments' semifinals will be played on 2 and 3 October as the second leg to be played on 23 and 24 of the same month. The first leg of the final round of the CAF Champions League will be played on 2, 3 or 4 November, while the second leg will be played on 9, 10 or 11 of the same month. The first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup final will be played on 23, 24 or 25 November while the second leg will be played on 1 or 2 December. The CAF also announced that the draw of the group stage round of the two tournaments will be held on 21 April with a new draw for the quarterfinals games to be held on 3 September. The CAF also decided that effective 2018, "indemnities of referees designated for CAF matches, will be paid directly by CAF. "This historic decision is a materialization of a campaign promise by the CAF President. Till now, the regulations required host associations to pay these indemnities. The decision reduces the financial burden on national associations and also eliminates an ethical challenge because it removes the suspicion perceived between national associations and the referees," the confederation said. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
