Joe Apu
There are strong indications that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) may cancel games in the continent or order matches to be played behind closed doors if the COVID-19 outbreak worsens, the authority said on Friday.
At a meeting held on Friday in Egypt, the football ruling body on the African continent stated that they may forced to take stringent action in the interest of the health of the players
“If the situation requires and in agreement with the countries concerned, matches behind closed doors, postponements or even cancellations are envisaged. In the meantime, an advisory to the actors of the game is being promulgated in conformity with guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO),” CAF said in a statement.
The statement comes after more countries in Africa reported confirmed cases of COVID-19.
As of 16GMT Friday, nine countries on the continent had confirmed cases of the virus, including Algeria, Egypt, Senegal, Tunisia, South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroon and Togo. In total, 41 cases had been reported across the nine countries.
The CAF statement comes less than a month until the 2020 African Nations Championship kicks off in Cameroon.
“We are not extremely worried but remain vigilant with regards to future matches and tournaments such as the CAF Champions League, CAF Confederation Cup and the final tournament of the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) scheduled to take place in Cameroon from 4-25 April 2020,” CAF said.