CAF may postpone 2022 Africa Cup of Nations tournament —Reports
Amid growing concerns over the spread of Omicron COVID-19 variant, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) may be compelled to postpone indefinitely the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament that is slated for January 2022 in Cameroon.
According to reports on Wednesday, the competition, CAF may abruptly decide to call off the tournament amid growing concerns from national team coaches who have expressed their fears over the increasing risks of going ahead with the tournament as scheduled.
El Balad’s Ismael Mahmoud reported that the competition may be postponed indefinitely, adding that “the country [England] is currently affected by a significant wave of Covid cases.”
France’s RMC Sport cited concerns from “several national coaches” regarding the Omicron variant, while also detailing the complex issues around players attached to English clubs.
“The African players called up by their selection should…undergo a quarantine on their return to the United Kingdom, which would therefore deprive the clubs of their players for a longer period,” the publication noted.
A number of Premier League clubs had been due to lose some of their African players for the duration of the tournament.
For instance, Liverpool Manager, Jurgen Klopp, would have had to lose his three star African players, Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita.
