The Confederation of African Football (CAF) said Friday the third and fourth round of qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations are being indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.
By Ibrahima Dione
The move follows “the reclassification of the current global health crisis of “Covid-19” as a pandemic by the World Health Organization,” CAF said in a statement.
The African football governing body, aware that “most of the players of the African teams play outside the continent,” takes into account “the increasing difficulties to travel around the world.”
CAF holds that holding the qualifying matches for the 2021 Afcon tournament (3rd and 4th days) without risks cannot be adequately guaranteed.
The international matches were scheduled from March 25 to 31, 2020.
Meanwhile CAF has also decided that “the qualifiers for the 2020 Women’s AFCON (April 8-14, 2020), as well as (those) of the U20 Women’s World Cup (March 20-29, 2020), are also postponed.”
ID/te/lb/as/APA