The Confederation of African Football has postponed the biennial tournament to January 2022 while canceling the African Women’s Cup
The next edition of the African Nations Cup (Afcon) has been postponed for 12 months, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) confirmed in its Executive Committee meeting on Tuesday.
The 33rd edition of the biennial tournament was scheduled to begin in Cameroon on January 9, 2021, but was postponed to January 2022 due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic across the continent.
“After consulting stakeholders and taking into account the current global situation, the tournament was postponed to January 2022,” confirmed Caf in a statement. “The dates for the final tournament and the remaining qualifying games will be announced in due course.”
On Thursday, Fifa announced that the international football window for all areas outside Europe and South America will be deleted in September, denying Africa a critical window in which some of the four outstanding qualifying rounds can be played before the scheduled start date in January 2021.
The African Football Association has not announced whether the 34th edition of the tournament, which is scheduled for Ivory Coast in 2023, will also be pushed back.
While Caf could play some of the outstanding qualifiers in the international window from October to November, this would have an impact on the World Cup qualification campaign, in which the five qualification teams will have to play eight qualifiers before the Qatar tournament in late 2022.
Algeria is the reigning African champion after beating Senegal 1-0 in the 2019 Cairo final.
The African Nations Cup was held for a long time in January and February, but was postponed to a schedule from June to July before the event in 2019. The newly elected President Ahmad Ahmad tried to avoid the disputes between the club and the country, which often overshadowed a tournament during the European winter.
However, the dates of the 2021 tournament have already been postponed, with the original dates from June to July 2021 being brought forward to January due to the unfavorable climate in Cameroon during the summer months.
Caf also confirmed that the 2020 African Nations Cup – the biennial tournament for home players – will be held next year, which was originally scheduled for April 2020.
“The CAF Executive Committee is satisfied with the Cameroonian authorities for their commitment to hosting the two competitions,” added Ahmad, dispelling rumors that the Central African nation would be replaced as the host. “Cameroon is ready to host both competitions and is in the process.” Time schedule.”
The Chan – which was also to take place in Cameroon – had been postponed indefinitely due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Caf’s decision is made after Uefa postponed the 2020 European Championship by 12 months, while Copa America 2020 was also postponed to a start date in 2021.
It was also announced during the meeting that the two continental club competitions – the Champions League and the Confederation Cup – will be a “final four” format with one-legged semi-finals in September and not home and away games.
Morocco will host the Confederations Cup semi-finals and finals, although Caf has not yet announced the identity of the Champions League hosts.
The African Women’s Cup 2020 has been canceled for women’s football across the continent, while Caf has announced the inauguration of a new Women’s Champions League that will begin in 2021.
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In addition to canceling the 2020 Caf Awards, the continent’s governing body was also concerned with the immediate future of youth tournaments and beach soccer.
“A meeting with the organization competitions for youth football and zone associations has been proposed to complete the zone qualification arrangements,” the statement said. “In the meantime, the U-17 Afcon will take place in July 2021.
“After Uganda’s withdrawal [as Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations 2020 hosts]a new hosting offer will be launched to organize the finals in 2020 or 2021. “
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