Final kickoff changed after Tunis blast

TUNIS (Reuters) - The kickoff for Sunday's African Confederation Cup final has been brought forward by more than five hours after a state of emergency was declared following a bomb blast that killed at least 12 people in Tunisia.

The game between Etoile Sahel and Orlando Pirates of South Africa will go ahead in the coastal city of Sousse despite Tuesday's explosion on a bus, carrying presidential guard troops, in Tunis that the authorities said was detonated by a suicide bomber.

A curfew means the kickoff of 1930 GMT has been changed to 1400, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said in a statement on Wednesday.

CAF agreed to a request from the home club after holding talks with the Tunisian government and the national football federation.

(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Additional reporting by Tarek Amara in Tunis; Editing by Tony Jimenez; [e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging: Reuters Messaging: [e-mail])