FIFA reschedules World Cup qualifiers in Africa

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on Thursday confirmed that the 2022 World Cup qualifiers scheduled for Africa have been postponed.

Due to the COVID-19 and stadiums not meeting international standards, the event which was slated for June will now hold in September.

There will now be double match days in September, October and November with the 10 group winners advancing to the final round next March.

Africa has been allocated five places at the 32-nation tournament in Qatar, which has been moved from its traditional mid-year setting to November and December because of extreme summer heat.

Had two match days been staged in June, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Namibia, Niger, Senegal and Sierra Leone would not have been able to stage qualifiers.

The main stadiums in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Uganda were also ruled out, but they had alternate venues capable of hosting internationals.

Recently elected Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe from South Africa has prioritised improving poor facilities and pitches at many national stadiums.