The discussions, led by the President of the African Football Confederation (CAF) Ahmad Ahmad, will focus on the African Cup of Nations (CAN) to 24 countries, to be held from January 9 to February 6, 2021 in Cameroon.
“We sincerely hope that the African Cup of Nations will be held as planned in January and February“, CAF secretary general Abdelmounaim Bah told AFP.
The qualifications for the CAN were unable to complete, and one option being considered would be to have them completed in October and November.
This would further delay the start of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, originally scheduled to start in March and initially shifted to October. These qualifications should not start until 2021, after the CAN.
The cases of the African Nations Championship – which opposes national teams made up of players evolving in their country of origin – the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup should also be mentioned.
These last two competitions, African equivalents of the Champions League and the Europa League, were interrupted in March at the semi-finals. Scenarios to play these half and the finals either in August or in September are on the table.
African countries have suffered to varying degrees from the coronavirus pandemic. South Africa is the most affected among all sub-Saharan countries with 131,800 cases including 2,413 deaths according to the latest figures.
With the exception of Burundi, all African countries interrupted their competitions in March, as do most countries on the planet.
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