Holders CS Sfaxien will play Liguere in the third round

Fans wishing to watch the Confederation Cup match between hosts Highlanders of Zimbabwe and Al Merreikh on Saturday will have to be multi-millionaires.

Cheapest tickets for the third round, first leg qualifier against the Sudanese side will set supporters back 100 million Zimbabwe dollars in the land of six-digit inflation.

And those fancying the comfort of the VIP enclosure at Gwanzura Stadium in the southern suburb of Highfields must fork out 800 million dollars to watch a match scheduled for Harare.

Admission prices have been hiked in a country where the official exchange rate is 30,000 Zimbabwe dollars to one American dollar so that cash-strapped Highlanders can fund the flight to Sudan next month for the return match.

South African clubs have long been accused of not taking Caf club competitions seriously and Ajax Cape Town coach Craig Rosslee admits he will field a weakened team at home to Mount Cameroon.

Ajax top the national championship standings on goal difference with four rounds left and managerial rookie Rosslee does not want to risk injuries so close to the finish line and a one-million-dollar-plus first prize.

Esperance of Tunisia, the biggest name among the 16 survivors having won every Caf competition bar the Confederation Cup, will be wary of US Masseda in Togo after coming close to a humiliating exit this month.

The 'Blood and Gold' needed the away-goal rule to eliminate Moroccan lower league outfit Rachad Barnoussi despite fielding an expensively assembled assortment of Tunisian internationals.

CS Sfaxien are away to erratic Linguere of Senegal, who trounced Entente Bingerville of Ivory Coast 3-0 at home only to lose by the same score in Abidjan before scraping through on penalties.

Asante Kotoko of Ghana, the other contenders to have won a Caf competiton, are away to Dolphin of Nigeria, runners-up to FAR Rabat of Morocco in the 2005 Confederation Cup.