CAF alters dates for 2022 World Cup, AFCON 2021 qualifiers
Days after changing the commencement date of AFCON 2021, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reportedly rolled out new dates for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
According to footballlive.ng report, this is the aftermath of the decision to move the 2021 AFCON tournament in Cameroon from June-July back to previous date of January-February.
Hostilities in AFCON 2012 qualifiers was initially slated to commence in August, but will now start in March, while the World Cup qualifiers will now kick-off in October to accommodate the change in AFCON 2021.
Two rounds of AFCON 2021 qualifiers will now take place in March, with another round in June prior to the final qualifying period from August 31 to September 8.
CAF Makes More Competition Amendments After Shifting AFCON 2021 Commencement Date – https://t.co/cHF32eR5SS pic.twitter.com/OhEGHhH8Qb
— FootballLiveNG (@footballliveCH) January 17, 2020
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Interestingly, AFCON 2019 was the first edition of the tournament with 24 participating teams, after 25 years and 14 editions as a 16-team competition.
Algeria were the inaugural winners of the 24-team AFCON tournament and the last host nation of the previous version where only 8 teams vied for honours.