The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has rejected a request from Egyptian side Ahly to postpone their 4 August match against South Africa's Orlando Pirates in Group A of the African Champions League.
"The management received the rejection letter from the CAF on Monday," stated the club through their official website.
Earlier this week, the seven-time African champions officially asked the CAF for permission to postpone the game for five days, to be played on 9 August instead of 4, to give them a chance to find a host stadium.
Last Wednesday, in the first round and after long negotiations and speculation, Egyptian security forces agreed to allow Ahly's Cairo rivals Zamalek to host them at Al-Gouna Stadium, a Red Sea resort 430km away from the capital, due to the current security situation in the country.
Al-Gouna stadium is a tiny 12,000-seater stadium and is not equipped with floodlights.
"Ahly football sector manager Hadi Khashaba is in contact with the security authorities to allow us to host the South African team in a lighted stadium to allow the team to play at night to avoid fatigue during Ramadan fasting hours," Ahly stated.
Ramadan is the holy month for Muslims in which they do not eat or drink between dawn and dusk.
Group A is level after the first round, with Zamalek-Ahly (1-1) and Orlando Pirates-AC Leopards (0-0).
(For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports)
Short link: