Nigerian Professional Football League side Rivers United were knocked out of the CAF Champions League on Saturday following their 4-3 loss on aggregate to Sudanese powerhouse Al-Merrikh.<br /><br />Bakri Al Madina scored a hat-trick in the first half of the game to draw level, before a crucial goal from Alticket in the 72nd minute sealed the win for Al-Merrikh.<br /><br />Egyptian and Sudanese football expert Lotfi Wada has revealed that as many as 50,000 spectators witnessed the meeting at the Al-Merreikh Stadium (Omdurman).<br /><br />And he highlighted that Al-Merrikh generated US$300,000 (equivalent of N133.5 million using the unofficial rate) from gate receipts during the Champions League contest.<br /><br />Rivers United have been compensated by CAF following the Champions League exit, and will now feature in the CAF Confederation Cup. <br /><br />Ifeanyi Emmanuel <br />