NEWPORT County AFC will take on Carl Zeiss Jena tomorrow after a new venue was hastily arranged for the celebratory friendly in East Germany.

The match to commemorate the famous European Cup Winners’ Cup clash between the pair in 1981 will be held in nearby Weimar after Jena’s Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld was closed for safety reasons earlier this week.

Jena president Rainer Zipfel says he was stunned by the stadium owner’s decision to close the stadium with immediate effect because the floodlights are in danger of collapse.

The match was in doubt with no venue to play at but it will now go ahead in Weimar, which is 11 miles from Jena.

A statement from Jena, who are celebrating their 110th anniversary, read: “The Ernst-Abbe-Sportfeld remains closed due to danger of collapsing floodlights until further notice.

“This makes it certain that the scheduled season opening ceremony within the 110-year anniversary of the club cannot take place in Jena and gives way to Weimar from the local Wimaria Stadium.”

Zipfel added: “We would not cancel because our Welsh friends have invested much time, energy and money into this journey to Jena. Of course, we are far from being in a celebratory mood as the impact of the stadium blocking can have threatening implications for our existence.

“Despite this, the Welsh and our fans have been waiting for months for this game.

“It is now an international friendly game between friends.”

Justin Edinburgh and the Exiles squad traveled to Germany on Thursday along with around 250 fans.

When the clubs last met 31 years ago the Germans won 3-2 on aggregate.

County earned a 2-2 draw in the first leg in Jena in 1981, but a 1-0 defeat at Somerton Park in the second leg saw the German team advance to the semi-final.

Jena, who are now in the fourth tier of German football, were eventually beaten 2-1 in the final by Georgian side Dinamo Tbilisi.