Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers postponed due to World Cup preparations
The Confederation of African Football said today, Sunday, that it was decided to postpone the next round of the African Nations Cup qualifiers scheduled for next September to a later date to allow the five African countries qualified for the World Cup finals in Qatar to better prepare for the tournament by playing some preparatory matches for the World Championship.
The postponement of the qualifying round has not been announced in recent weeks after the continental finals, which were scheduled in Ivory Coast in June 2023, were postponed to January 2024.
Some coaches criticized the date of the continental qualifiers, saying that their teams are supposed to play during this time with teams from other continents.
Thus, Senegal, for example, is supposed to announce alternative matches in preparation for the World Cup after the decision to postpone the African continent.
The other African countries that qualified for the Qatar finals are Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia.
After the first two rounds of the African Nations Cup qualifiers were held last June, there are four rounds left.
The Confederation of African Football said that it was decided to postpone the dates of the third and fourth rounds of qualifiers to March 20 and 28 next year, with the fifth round to be held in June 2023 and the sixth round in September next year.
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