CAF: AFCON 2021 May Be Postponed

Given the effects of the Coronavirus in the world of football, CAF has revealed the possibility of adjourning the African Cup of Nations scheduled to take place next year.

According to the acting secretary general of the Confederation of African Football, Abdelmounaïm Bah, CAF is keen to hold the 2021 Nations Cup as scheduled, but may be forced to postpone it going by the situation at hand as per Covid-19.

“No decision has been taken yet concerning the Nations Cup adjournment,” Bah told Al-Ahram Al-Riyadi.

“But a decision is still possible. We discussed the matter with Cameroon.”

The Moroccan official also revealed that CAF is considering postponing the 2022 World Cup qualifiers so as to make room for the four remaining rounds of the Nations Cup qualifiers, in order to hold the Nations Cup as scheduled in the winter, to avoid any delay that would see the tournament played in the heat of summer.

He further stated that as far as the CAF Champions League and CAF Confederations are concerned, there's no intention to call off the two competitions that are in the latter stages.

“There are three games remaining in both competitions and it will be easy for us to complete them,” said Bah.

“We are considering many scenarios to complete the competitions. I confirm that we will resume the two competitions but the date is not yet set.”

The Nations Cup is scheduled to start on 9 January in Cameroon, but the fate of the continental tournament remain unclear given that the CAF has postponed three rounds of qualifiers until further notice.