Congolese champions TP Mazembe’s trip to South Africa for next weekend’s CAF Champions League fixture is still in doubt as the Congolese Aviation Authority are yet to issue the club with a flight permit as per instruction of the state.
Mazembe booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 3-0 win over Egyptian side Pyramids FC in Lubumbashi and conclude their Group A campaign with an away fixture against Mamelodi Sundowns next Saturday.
The team is scheduled to fly out of Lubumbashi to Pretoria on Monday, 26th February but the trip remains in doubt with the Aviation Authority having not granted the club’s private plane flight access to leave the country.
Earlier this month, club president Moïse Katumbi, one of the leading opposition leaders in the DRC, also had his private jet denied permit to fly out to Ivory Coast for the 2023 AFCON final.
The government of President Fèlix Tshisekedi has declared the DR Congo a no flying zone for Katumbi which is now been extended to Mazembe who the country’s sole representives in CAF competitions this season.
