The qualifiers were meant to happen between March 21-March 25 but CAF said they were making the decision to postpone the qualifiers in order to protect the health and safety of stakeholders including players, sponsors, match officials and broadcasters.

A statement published by CAF on Friday evening read; “Coronavirus has been declared as a pandemic by WHO. In Africa, only a few cases have been reported, but the situation could evolve negatively. Several players, who are supposed to play the next Afcon qualifiers, come from countries which have been severely affected by the virus (Europe, Asia). Several African governments have taken strong restrictions on travels; lockdown, quarantine for people coming from countries affected by the virus. Several clubs refuse now to release their players for the next international matches”.F-