Caf's travel rules on the continent could come to Platinum Stars' rescue

Platinum Stars look set to get a piece of good fortune as they prepare to take on Mozambican side União Desportiva do Songo in the preliminary round of the African Confederation Cup.

The town Songo is located in the remote north of Mozambique near the Malawi border and has no scheduled flights to its modest airport.

It is a 20-hour bus trip from the capital Maputo along at times treacherous roads‚ but fortunately Confederation of African Football (CAF) regulations mean Stars will not have to endure this.

The game is now likely to be moved to Maputo by the Songo club‚ a far more comfortable environment for Stars with easy “in and out” access for the team.

That is because CAF rules state that if a game is played more than 200-kilometres away from the capital city of a country‚ the host team must arrange air travel for the visiting side.

But as scheduled flights to Songo do not exist‚ this would have to be in the form of a charter aircraft.

Such an arrangement would come at huge expense.

“It looks like the game will be moved to Maputo or just outside‚” Stars coach Cavin Johnson confirmed to Times Media Digital.

“This is obviously good news for us because the travel to Songo would have been tough and maybe even quite dangerous.”

Johnson answered with a chuckle when asked what information he has been able to gain about his side’s opponents.

“Nothing!

"We have been searching since the draw for any video footage and information about the team and there is nothing at all‚ so we are going in a bit blind.”

Stars will be away at Baroka FC on the Wednesday before their scheduled away leg in Mozambique‚ and then home to Mamelodi Sundowns on the Tuesday after in what is a punishing schedule made easier by the fact they will likely not travel to Songo.

Fortunately‚ Stars will have the home leg first on the weekend of February 10-12‚ which will give Johnson and his technical team the chance to learn much about their opponents before travelling to Mozambique.

The second leg will be played a week later.

The winner of the tie will meet the winner of the tie between Comoros side Volcan Club and Ugandan outfit Vipers‚ with the latter heavily tipped to advance.

Stars are making a return to African club competition for the first time since 2008 when they played in the African Champions League and Confederation Cup tournaments.

They lost 3-2 on aggregate to Egtptian giants Ahly in the Champions League‚ despite a 2-1 win at home‚ and then lost 4-2 on aggregate to Tunisian side CS Sfaxien in the playoff round of the Confederation Cup. - TMG Digital