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On January 22, AS reported CONCACAF would be moving 2018 CONCACAF Champions League games out of Honduras to avoid getting caught up in the country’s ongoing political unrest, and that the nominal home teams - Motagua and Olimpia - had requested they be allowed to play their matches in Florida. This was followed by a statement from CONCACAF that it was reviewing alternative sites for the games, but had yet to reach a final decision. And that statement was followed by Costa Rican reporter Jorge Martinez’s confident declaration that Olimpia, at least, would be playing at Estadio Nacional in San Jose, Costa Rica.
Confirmado, el @CDOlimpia jugará su partido de @TheChampions en @CONCACAF ante @NewYorkRedBulls de la @MLS, el 22 de febrero, a puerta cerrada, en el Estadio Nacional de San José @TeleticaTD7 @CronicaTR @GusMenFox @Remero20 @FabianBM08 @Gustavolopezca @PaulTenorio
— Jorge (@jorge8martinez) January 22, 2018
CONCACAF’s official position remains simply that options are under review. But Martinez’s report was quickly supported by Honduran journalist Eduardo Solano:
The Olimpia vs RBNY will be play in San José Costa Rica, due to the political situation in Honduras, there won’t be no fans allowed at the game.
— Eduardo solano (@newguayork) January 22, 2018
And Honduran outlet La Prensa cites Olimpia vice-president Osman Madrid as its source for the news that the Honduran club will play the home leg of its CCL series against RBNY in Costa Rica’s Estadio Nacional on February 22, at 8:00 pm.
The game is expected to be played behind closed doors, with fans excluded because Olimpia is working through a six-game penalty imposed by CONCACAF due to crowd trouble at the Honduran club’s home field last summer.
Nothing is official until CONCACAF says it is, but the smart money is clearly on Olimpia playing New York Red Bulls in CCL 2018 in Costa Rica, not Florida.