The 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) has been postponed over concerns about the Coronavirus pandemic, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced on Tuesday.
The announcement comes in the wake of the suspension of Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers in March and three other major CAF football events in the continent.
In a statement, CAF said that the biannual football competition which to hosted by Cameroon beginning from 4 to 25 April 2020 has been postponed after its emergency committee accepted the medical committee’s proposal to avoid ‘any useless risk’.
“A delegation made up of members of the CAF Medical Committee carried out an inspection visit to Cameroon for an update of the preventive measures being taken, as part of the preparations for the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN), in light of the evolving nature of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the world,” the statement read.
“They also had discussions with the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Cameroon during their mission which lasted 14-15 March 2020.
“Their observations were that preventive measures have been taken to control entry into the country and health facilities are ready to deal with the current situation.
“They also noted that Cameroonian authorities have given all the guarantees for appropriate measures to ensure the smooth running of the competition
“However, despite the relatively low rate of the spread of COVID-19 on the continent at the moment compared to other parts of the world, it is difficult to predict its evolution in the coming days.
“The restrictive and precautionary measures taken by various Governments to prevent the spread of the virus has made it increasingly difficult for people to move from one place to another.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “Given all these challenges, and in order to avoid risking the health of players, officials, partners and fans, CAF in consultation with the relevant Cameroonian authorities (Local Organising Committee) has decided by mutual agreement, to postpone the CHAN initially planned for 4-25 April 2020 to a later date. [/perfectpullquote]
“CAF would like to thank the Cameroonian authorities for their commitment and urge them to continue preparing for this competition which will take place as soon as conditions permit.”
Morocco are the tournament’s defending champions having defeated Nigeria 4-0 in a final of the 2018 edition played in Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca.
The CHAN is a 16-team tournament for home-based players, held every two years, which gives local players the opportunity to shine in a continental context and can often lead to lucrative moves overseas.
