The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has postponed the 2023 African Cup of Nations qualification tournament which was slated for September this year to March 2023.
The third and fourth round of the qualifiers which were scheduled for September 19 and September 22, 2022 will now be played between March 20, and 28, 2023. The fifth round will take place in June while the final round is slated for 4-12 September.
According to CAF, the executive committee reached the decision to allow the five African nations that will represent the continent at the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup ample time to prepare.
Also Read: Everton Honours Fan Sacrificing to Feed Ukrainian Refugees
“This was necessitated by the Executive Committee’s commitment to make room for the African nations that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in November/ December 2022 to prepare adequately,”
“Consequently, the September 2022 Total Energies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire match day three and match day four qualifiers have been moved to 20-28 March 2023,"
Match day five will now be on 12-20 June 2023 while match day six will be played on 4-12 September 2023,” read a press release from CAF.
The five African teams that will grace the World Cup which will be staged in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 include Ghana, Morocco, Cameroon, Tunisia and Senegal.
Also Read: African Sportsmen Living Humble Lives Despite Earning Millions
Matchday 1 and matchday 2 were played between June 1 and June 13, with nations such as Nigeria starting their qualification campaign in style by picking two vital wins including a 10-0 hammering of Sao Tome and Principe to stay at the top of Group A with six points.
The 34 edition of the tournament which will be held in Ivory Coast will feature 24 teams. Hosts Cote d’Ivoire were given an automatic ticket.
Kenya and Zimbabwe will not take part in the qualifiers since they are currently serving a FIFA ban due to government interference.
CAF had included Zimbabwe and Kenya in the official draw in April this year, but the two countries failed to have the ban imposed on them lifted within the timeline given.
The next time Kenya is likely to feature in the continental showpiece is at the 2025 edition. Harambee Stars’ last appearance in the AFCON tournament was in the 2019 edition held in Egypt where they were bundled out in the group stages.
Also Read: Africa Adopts Online Football Licensing System