Burundian club Aigle Noir SC has changed its travel plans and will spend the night in Kigali ahead of its CAF Champions League preliminary-round second-leg match against Sudanese side Al Hilal Omdurman.
Aigle Noir had initially planned to travel to Kigali on match day, play the game and return to Burundi immediately afterwards.
The club has now opted to arrive earlier and stay overnight in Kigali, amid the strained relations between Rwanda and Burundi and the continued closure of the land border between the two countries.
Al Hilal will host Aigle Noir at Amahoro Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm.
The Sudanese side takes a 2-0 lead into the second leg after winning the first match in Burundi. Aigle Noir must therefore win by at least two goals in Kigali to keep its hopes of advancing alive.
The decision to travel on match day had attracted attention in recent continental fixtures involving clubs from the region.
APR FC used a similar arrangement when it travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to face FC Les Aigles du Congo. The Rwandan champions travelled on match day, played the game and returned home by air immediately afterwards.
FC Les Aigles du Congo is expected to adopt a similar approach for the return leg against APR FC in Kigali, with the match scheduled for Friday.
