Local clubs to participate in Confederation of African Football club competitions are in a fix due to a change in the CAF calendar for the 2018/2019 competitions.

According to the new rules, the Champions League and Confederation Cup competitions will be staged from August through to May, following the same schedule as most of the major African leagues and that of European club competitions.

The switch which will be made this year will see the 2018/19 editions starting in November, the time when the local league will be running unless there is a crash program to end the fixtures earlier than the October deadline for registration.

CAF are squeezing two preliminary rounds before Christmas and will start the group phase for the Champions League in January.

FC Platinum represented Zimbabwe in the Champions League this year in which they failed at the first hurdle being eliminated by Primero Agosto of Angola while Harare City who were supposed to represent the country in the Confederation Cup did not register as they were relegated from the Premier League.

It remains to be seen which criteria the Zimbabwe Football Association will use to select the country’s representatives but either way they will be unprepared as they will have difficulties strengthening squads at a time when most teams will be fighting for the championship as well as against relegation.