CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - A postponement of January's Africa Cup of Nations finals could be on the cards when the Confederation of African Football (CAF) meet next week in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Cup of Nations is set for Cameroon from Jan 9-Feb 6 but appears increasingly under threat as time begins to run out. Qualifying is still far from complete and national team football on the continent is not due to resume before October in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
FIFA's decision on Thursday to cancel September's window for national team matches in all regions, except Europe and South America, has left CAF with fewer dates to try and complete the competition’s qualifying campaign and the finalise the field for the 24-team tournament. There is also the squeeze that hosting the Cup of Nations next January would place on domestic competition, with the 2020-21 season in most of Africa’s major leagues set to start late as they seek to first complete current campaigns which have been suspended by the pandemic. Most African leagues are halted mid-season to make space for the Cup of Nations.
CAF must also decide whether to cancel this year’s African Nations Championship, which was due to be played in Cameroon in April. It is the tournament hosted every two years for quasi national teams made up of home based players only.
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