Chiefs face visa crisis ahead of Champions League clash
“Members of the traveling party have not been issued with visas to enter the North African country despite applications being submitted timeously,” read a statement from Amakhosi.
Defender Daniel Cardoso and Kaizer Chiefs teammates wait for a new neutral to be selected for their side’s Caf Champions League game against Wydad Casablanca: Steve Haag/BackpagePix
Kaizer Chiefs have been left without visas just hours before they are set to travel to Morocco for their Caf Champions League Group C opener against Wydad Casablanca on Saturday.
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Morocco recently announced they have suspended trips from South Africa to the North African country due to the second wave of the Covid-19 in the Southern African country.
“Following the submission of the application for visas, the club has been in constant communication with CAF, the Moroccan Embassy in SA, South African Embassy in Morocco, SAFA, Wydad Casablanca, the Moroccan football association and the Department of International Relations and Corporation (DIRCO) to ensure that the application for visas is processed and approved,” read the statement on Chiefs’ website.
Chiefs says they were surprised to learn that the squad set to travel to Morocco had not received their visas yet with the time expected to travel in the next two days in preparation for Saturday’s match.
Amakhosi have faced similar challenges in the preliminary stages of the tournament when they had to travel to Angola to face Primeiro de Agosto.
“Wydad did confirm that they are awaiting confirmation from their Ministry of Health to grant Kaizer Chiefs special permission to enter the country because South Africa is on the list of countries that have been banned from entering Morocco due of the high numbers of the Covid-19 infections. No response has been received by Wydad or Kaizer Chiefs to this effect,” continued the statement.
Amakhosi would like to travel to the North African country before Friday for players to settle and prepare for Saturday’s match and have contacted the Moroccan Embassy to sort out the issue with their visas.
“Kaizer Chiefs will once again send a delegation to the Moroccan Embassy this morning in an effort to seek clarity and request for the issuing of visas so the team can catch their flight and honour the fixture against Wydad in Casablanca on Saturday.”
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