Covid-19 pandemic: African Cup of Nations postponed from January next year to 2022


The next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) has been postponed by 12 months, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) confirmed in their Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday.

Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez receives Africa Cup of Nations 2019 from CAF President. (Reuters Photo)

Next January’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon have been postponed by one year and will now take place in 2022, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) decided on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 health crisis has suspended football across most of the continent since March and left little time to complete the qualification competition, said CAF president Ahmad Ahmad at a news conference.

The Cup of Nations were due to be held from Jan. 9-Feb. 6 next year but will now be scheduled for January 2022.

“This decision was taken due to the uncertainties about the coronavirus health situation and especially because of the scheduling problems since four rounds of qualifiers would need to be fitted into the October and November windows for international matches,” said Ahmad.

The Africa Nations Championship, which is the tournament for quasi-national teams made up of locally-based players only, will now be played in January during the period initially planned for the Cup of Nations having been postponed from April this year.

Cameroon will also be asked to stage the semi-finals and final of this year’s African Champions League, CAF’s executive committee decided at a meeting.

There will be a single semi-final stage and then the final, likely in September, said the CAF president.

The same procedure will be used for the African Confederation Cup, suspended before the semi-final stage. Its last three games will be staged in Morocco.

“But we have to see what happens with the pandemic and what the situation will be. We have made a decision today but this could all change tomorrow,” added Ahmad.

CAF has decided to scrap this year’s African Women’s Championship. No new host has been found since Congo withdrew last year.

However, CAF said it would launch a Women’s Champions League in 2021.

African football’s governing body said it had allocated an additional $16.2-million to assist member associations hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each country will be given an extra $300,000.

IndiaToday.in has plenty of useful resources that can help you better understand the coronavirus pandemic and protect yourself. Read our comprehensive guide (with information on how the virus spreads, precautions and symptoms), watch an expert debunk myths, and access our dedicated coronavirus page.
Get real-time alerts and all the news on your phone with the all-new India Today app. Download from

  • Andriod App
  • IOS App



Source link

Latest articles

Breaking News 69,921 Coronavirus Cases In India In 24 Hours, 36.91 Lakh Total Cases69,921 coronavirus cases in India in 24 hours, 36.91 lakh total...
Read more

Kangana Ranaut reaches 1 million mark on Twitter, celebrates with a special message video

Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut joined Twitter a week ago and she has already reached 1 million mark. The actress was...
Read more

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal To Students Taking JEE Today

JEE: Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal wished students ahead of the JEE.New Delhi: Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal wished students appearing for the...
Read more

Ex-President Pranab Mukherjee Dies, Political Leaders To Pay Last Respects Today: Updates

The Centre has announced seven days of state mourning for former President Pranab Mukherjee.The last rites of former President of India, Pranab Mukherjee...
Read more
44.1k Followers
Follow
Previous articlePrime Minister Narendra Modi Shares Rendering Of His Address To Nation In Various Languages
Next articleDr Raman Gangakhedkar, Who Represented Top Medical Body ICMR At COVID Briefings, Retires

Related articles

Leave a reply

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here