Chronicle Editor
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THE Confederation of African Football executive committee met via conference call on Thursday where a number of decisions were made.
In a statement, Caf said the executive committee ratified the resolutions of the confederation’s Emergency Committee on the resumption of the qualifiers for the Total Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 qualifiers and the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The Caf ordinary General Assembly 2020 is scheduled on 11 December in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. However, due to the health crisis and safety restrictions, Tanzania will be a backup option. Should the situation not improve, the ordinary General Assembly is to be held by videoconference.
Next year will see elections being held to choose a new leadership for the continental football body. The Caf Elective General Assembly 2021 is to be held on 12 March 2021 in Rabat, Morocco. Caf released a timeline for electoral process, with the opening of reception of candidates open from 11 September and close on 12 November. The names of the candidates will be communication to all national associations on 11 January next year.
Caf communicated that the Total African Nations Championship, which was initially scheduled for 4-25 April 2020 and postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will now take place on 16 January to 7 February 2021. In addition, the fourth substitution rule in the event of extra time at the knockout stages of the competitions will be applied.
The final tournament of the Total African Nations Championship Algeria 2022 will be rescheduled to January 2023. The exact dates are to be discussed with the Algerian Football Federation.
For the Caf Women’s Champions League, each of the Six Caf zones will arrange qualifiers to determine the finalists for the eight team tournament. Caf said the breakdown is as one team from each zone, one team from the host country and one additional team. For the maiden edition, the zonal union of the host country will have two representatives. However, for subsequent editions, the host country will have only one representative whilst the Zonal Union of the defending champion will qualify two teams. In terms of the format of the competition, Caf said the eight qualified teams will be drawn into two groups of four teams each in accordance with the regulations. The competition will be held annually and during the second half of the year
Caf announced that the Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations 2022 will be played in July 2022 while the Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations 2020 will take place in Senegal where the finalists will represent Africa at the Fifa Beach Soccer World Cup Russia next year.
The bidding process for upcoming competitions has been opened by Caf, with member countries free to bid for the following: Women’s Champions League 2021 and 2022, Total Women’s Africa Cup of Nations – 2022, Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations 2022, Total U-17 Africa Cup of Nations – 2023, Total U-20 Africa Cup of Nations – 2023, Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations – 2023, Total Caf Champions League final 2021, 2022 and 2023, Total Caf Confederation Cup final 2021, 2022 and 2023, Total U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2021.
Caf said in light of restrictions in the Kingdom of Morocco as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic leading to constraints in air travel, the remaining matches of the Total Caf Champions League and Total Caf Confederation Cup have been rescheduled following a request by the Royal Moroccan Football Federation to make way for easy travel of the participating clubs.
The change in schedule has automatically affected the calendar of the 2020/21 season.
According to Caf, the new schedule will see the Champions League semifinals first leg fixtures take place on 17 and 18 October while the second leg matches are scheduled for 23 and 24 October. The final of the tournament is slated for 6 November.
For the Caf Confederation Cup, the semifinals are slated for 19 and 20 October with the final on 25 October.
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Bongani Ndlovu