Confederation of African Football (CAF) has postponed this month’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches indefinitely because of the coronavirus.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles were to host Sierra Leone at Asaba on March 27 with the return leg scheduled for four days later away in the 2021 AFCON qualifying Match Day three and four.
The postponement comes in the wake of the declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and following strict travel restrictions by some African countries to contain the spread of the virus.
“Coronavirus has been declared as a pandemic by WHO. In Africa, only few cases have been reported, but the situation could evolve negatively. Several players, who are supposed to play the next AFCON qualifiers, come from countries which have been severely affected by the virus (Europe and Asia),” the statement read.
“Several African governments have taken strong restrictions on travels; lock down, quarantine for people coming from countries affected by the virus.”
“For the above reasons and after studying carefully the current situation, CAF has decided to postpone the Total Africa Cup of Nations 2021 qualifiers, scheduled from March 25 to 31, 2020.”
Earlier this week, CAF disclosed that inter-club competitions would proceed as scheduled while the Nigeria Football Federation boss Amaju Pinnick revealed plans to move Super Eagles’ players via a chartered flight from their respective base in Europe.
