FIFA, in conjunction with the Confederation of African Football (CAF), has decided to postpone the African qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 that were to be played in June 2021.

The qualifiers are now scheduled to take place in September, October and November 2021, and March 2022.

FIFA and CAF said the current disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to ensure optimal playing conditions for all teams led them to make the move.

In a statement, CAF said it is reassessing its protocols and processes to enhance the implementation of COVID-related protocols, including specifically focusing on pre-match testing which had been the source of some challenges in previous windows.

Statement: CAF Emergency Committee postpones FIFA World Cup African qualifiers

The CAF Emergency Committee, in consultation with FIFA, decided to postpone the CAF qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™️ that were due to be played in June 2021 after taking into consideration the current challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to ensure the optimal playing conditions for all participating teams.

The qualifiers will now take place in the existing windows of September, October and November 2021, and March 2022.

CAF is reassessing its protocols and processes to enhance the implementation of COVID-related protocols, including specifically focusing on pre-match testing which had been the source of some challenges in previous windows.

Full details on the updated match schedule will be provided in due course.