Coronavirus: CAF Postpones Africa Cup Of Nations To 2021

The 2020 African Cup of Nations will not be played in April as earlier scheduled after a special request from the hosts amidst coronavirus concerns.

The request was made by Cameroon who asked that the tournament be postponed following the widespread pandemic which has forced football all across Europe to shut down.

According to a statement by CAF, the body accepted the proposal of it’s medical committee who advised to avoid unnecessary risks.

“Following the growing concern of the Covid-19 virus and the report of the recently concluded Medical inspection visit to the host country of the Total CHAN, Cameroon 2020, Caf emergency committee decided today to postpone the competition until further notice,” read the statement by CAF.

“The following factors were taken into consideration by the Medical Committee in its recommendation to the emergency committee.

“Even though the situation is considered as being under control in Cameroon and as per the advice from the WHO, the crisis is not yet stabilized yet in Africa and it’s very difficult to predict its evolution in the next few days.

“Travelling across the continent is getting increasingly complicated and even impossible for some countries, due to the restrictions put in place by the different governments.

“For all these reasons, and to avoid any useless risk, the Medical Committee’s proposal was to unanimously postpone the CHAN.

“The emergency committee also decided it was necessary to postpone the planned Executive Committee and 42nd General Assembly initially scheduled on the 24th April 2020 in Cameroon.

“We would like to assure you that Caf is monitoring the situation closely and working with the competent authorities such as the WHO on the impact of the virus in the continent and Caf Competitions.

“Caf administration will propose the potential new dates in due time depending on the improvement of the situation.”