Coronavirus: U17 Women's World Cup qualifier fixtures to go ahead as planned

Samuel Ahmadu

Coronavirus: U17 Women's World Cup qualifier fixtures to go ahead as planned image

The 2020 U17 Women's World Cup first round, second leg qualifying matches on March 14 are to go ahead as planned, despite fears over the increasing spread of the coronavirus across Africa.

After the World Health Organization (WHO) described Covid-19 as a pandemic, Caf has postponed some of its competitions except the U17 Women's World Cup qualifiers.

Major qualifiers across the continent have been postponed indefinitely, specifically for the 2021 African Cup of Nations, 2020 U20 Women's World Cup and 2020 African Women's Cup of Nations.

This is coming on the heels of the efforts of governments and organisations to combat the pandemic, forcing the cancellation or postponement of the events and competitions globally.

However, Caf on Friday did not include the African qualifying tournament for India 2020 among the affected competitions, which means this weekend's round of fixtures will go ahead.

"Coronavirus has been declared as a pandemic by WHO. In Africa, only 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)," a Caf statement read.

"Several African governments have taken strong restrictions on travels; lock down, quarantine for people coming from countries affected by the virus. Several clubs refuse now to release their players for the next international matches. 

"For the above reasons and after studying carefully the current situation, Caf has decided to postpone the Total Africa Cup of Nations 2021 qualifiers, scheduled from 25 to 31 March 2020."

On Saturday, South Africa seek to overturn a 2-0 defeat against Zambia at Bidvest Stadium in Johanessburg, while Uganda will aim to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Tanzania in Kampala.

On the same day, Cameroon will aim to advance in style in Yaounde after a 4-0 win in Sao Tome Principe, and Ghana will look to seal their passage in Accra after a 3-0 earlier win in Liberia.

While Nigeria can host Guinea in a dead rubber tie at the Agege Stadium on Saturday after a healthy 6-1 first-leg victory in Conakry, while Botswana's withdrawal sealed Morocco passage.

 

Samuel Ahmadu