CAF Confed Cup final: 5 things to know

Five things to know ahead of the CAF Confederation Cup final between Renaissance Sportive Berkane of Morocco and Orlando Pirates of South Africa in Uyo, Nigeria, on Friday:

Venue

The Godswill Akpabio International Stadium was opened in 2014, cost $96 million (92 mn euros), can accommodate 30,000 spectators and is named after a 59-year-old Nigerian politician and lawyer. Uyo is the capital of a southeastern state and is 660 kilometres (373 miles) by road from the commercial capital, Lagos.

Referee

Zambian Janny Sikazwe, who mistakenly ended an Africa Cup of Nations tournament match between Mali and Tunisia in Cameroon last January without playing added time and later admitted to having suffered from heatstroke, will referee the final, with Angolan and Mozambican assistants, a fourth official from Botswana and an Egyptian VAR team.

Kick-off

The 19th final of a competition launched in 2004 will kick off at 1900 GMT (2000 local time). There will be no extra time. If the clubs are level after 90 minutes, the title decider goes straight to a penalty shootout to decide who succeeds Moroccans Raja Casablanca as winners of the second-tier African competition.

Prizes

The winners pocket $1.25 million (1.2 mn euros) and the runners-up $625,000. Whichever club lifts the trophy will get a further $200,000 or $150,000 depending on whether they win or lose the annual one-off CAF Super Cup match against the CAF Champions League winners, title-holders Al Ahly of Egypt or Raja Casablanca of Morocco, who meet in the final on May 30.

History

The CAF Confederation Cup kicked off in 2004, replacing the African Cup Winners Cup and CAF Cup competitions, and is the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League. Hearts of Oak were the first winners, beating