The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Sunday that the final draw for the upcoming 2021 Africa Cup of Nations has been postponed indefinitely.
The draw, to divide 24 teams in Africa’s main international men’s association football competition into six groups was set to take place on 25 June 2021. However CAF published an urgent statement on Sunday announcing the indefinite postponement of the draw.
CAF said it was forced to postpone the draw due to for logistical reasons related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“At the request of CAF, the Cameroon Local Organizing Committee (LOC) has agreed to postpone the Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 final draw for logistical reasons related to the Covid-19 pandemic,” the governing body said in an official statement on Sunday.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“The draw was initially scheduled for 25 June 2021 and a new date will be announced in due course.[/perfectpullquote]
“CAF continues to work together with its partners, the Cameroon government and the LOC with the objective of making the Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2021 a successful event and a great celebration of African football.”
The draw for the group stages of the tournament is expected to include the winner between Sierra Leone and Benin as the clash could not take place in March after the latter refused to play when five of their players tested positive for Covid-19.
The other 23 spots for the tournament have been confirmed and includes hosts Cameroon and reigning champions Algeria, as well newcomers Comoros and Gambia, who will both be making their first-ever appearance at the finals.
The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations was supposed to be hosted by Cameroon between January and February 2021 but was moved to January 2022 and will end in February – a year later than the initial date, after Covid-19 disrupted the global football calendar.
