AFCON 2021: CAF determined to wrap up qualifiers by November

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is determined to complete the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers by the end of November.

The qualifiers for the 33rd edition of Africa’s prestigious tournament has been thrown into disarray due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

After kicking off with two games in November last year, the qualifying games were scheduled to continue late March but the pandemic forced CAF to announce an indefinite postponement.

With four qualifying matches left, CAF wishes to use the three international breaks left in the year – September, October and November – to complete the qualifiers.

CAF General Secretary, Abdel Mounaim Bah, in an interview with Cameroonian outfit CRTV said: “We have four qualifiers left which can be played in the next three international windows.

CAF General Secretary , Abdel Mounaim Bah

“With two games per window, we can conclude the qualifying process by November.”

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He also revealed that CAF will consider different options for the competition should it fail to complete the qualifiers.

“If we cannot play the AFCON in January, February 2021, obviously we have other different options.

“The first one could be to play during the summer of 2021, but the main issue will be the weather condition in Cameroon; we know that it could be very challenging.

“The other issue is to postpone it for one year and so to play in January, February 2022,” he added.

It is unclear the decision on the 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers, which were also scheduled to begin in October.