The Sea Robbers' match against Sagrada Esperanca is set to be cancelled due to the Angolan side's fears over a new strain of Covid-19 in South Africa
Angolan team Sagrada Esperanca have reportedly withdrawn from their first round, second leg Caf Confederation Cup tie against Orlando Pirates.
The match was scheduled to take place at the Orlando Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Bucs won the first leg encounter, away in Angola, 1-0, thanks to a Thembinkosi Lorch goal.
There will however now be no return leg, with Sagrada Esperanca vice president Bruno dos Santos having issued a letter explaining his club's withdrawal.
According to the letter, the reason behind the withdrawal is the new strain of Covid-19 which has been uncovered in South Africa, which has driven a wave of new infections.
"The risks related to team's stay in South Africa would be very high for the health of athletes, taking into account the magnitude of the contagion level and extreme lethality of the new version of the Covid-19 virus, which is prevalent in that country," read part of the statement (translated from Portuguese).
The letter also mentioned the need to "fundamentally preserve the lives of the athletes".
The Sagrada Esperanca management also reiterated their willingness to participate in Caf fixtures, but only "in perfect health security conditions,"
Angola recently shut their borders to travelers from Australia, Nigeria, South Africa and the UK.
They did however make an exception for Kaizer Chiefs, who take on Primiero Agosto in a CAF Champions League match on Tuesday, with the Amakhosi contingent already having landed in Angola.
There has not yet been any official word from 2015 Confederation Cup finalists Orlando Pirates nor from the Confederation of African Football (Caf), as per Monday morning.
Should the match not go ahead, it would likely be seen by Pirates coach Josef Zinnbauer as some welcome respite in the middle of a frenetic fixture schedule.
The recently crowned MTN8 champions suffered a 1-0 league loss to Mamelodi Sundowns last weekend.
Their next domestic fixture is against Swallows FC on Sunday 10 January. After that they play Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila on the 13th, Black Leopards on the 17th, Golden Arrows on the 20th, Maritzburg United on the 23rd, TS Galaxy on the 26th and Kaizer Chiefs on the 30th.