Connect with us

Sports

COVID-19: CAF cancels U-17 AFCON in Morocco

Published

CAF U-17 AFCON Morocco 2021



The Confederation of African Football announced that it has called off the Morocco 20201 U-17 African Cup Of Nations, the football body announced on Tuesday.

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets who finished second at the U-17 WAFU tournament were scheduled to depart the country on Tuesday for Morocco for the tournament billed to kick-off on Friday.

According to a statement released on CAF’s official website, the tournament was cancelled by CAF Emergency committee following a meeting on Monday over concerns about the pandemic.

Other reasons include the closure of the Moroccan airspace until March 21, due to COVID-19 as well as uncertainty about the evolution of the situation, CAF said.

Algeria’s U-17 national team was expected to arrive in Morocco on Saturday pending the confirmation of the entry visa into Morocco, whole reports revealed that Senegal, Ivory Coast, Uganda, Tanzania and  Zambia are already in the North African country.

CAF’s statement read: “The Committee was made aware of the constraints faced by some of the participating member associations as well as the host country including the fact that the coronavirus pandemic continues to present significant challenges for the organization of international sporting events.

“Taking into account the cancellation by FIFA of the Under-17 World Cup for which the U-17 CAN was no longer qualifying, the Committee further noted: the resurgence of the Covid19 pandemic, increased restrictions on international travel and uncertainty about the evolution of the situation.

“For all these reasons, the Committee decided to cancel the 2021 edition of the Total U17 Africa Cup of Nations.”

The 12-team tournament was due to kick-off between March 13 and March 31 with the Golden Eaglets billed to face Tanzania, Algeria and Congo-Brazzaville in Group B.

Others are Uganda, Morocco, Ivory Coast and Zambia – Group A, while holders Cameroon were due to face South Africa, Mali and Senegal in Group C.

Advertisement
Comments



Trending