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Tadious myths
Harare – The Executive Committee of the African Football Confederation has tentatively set June 25 as the date for the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) draw.
Cameroon hosts the AFCON, which will be played from January 9 to February 6 next year after the CAF moved the party to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Twenty-three participants have already been confirmed, pending only the match between Sierra Leone and Benin. The match was supposed to be played in Freetown this week, but there was a draw after five Benin starters “tested positive” for Covid-19.
CAF rescheduled the match, in which Benin needs a point to qualify while Sierra Leone should win to reach Cameroon.
In a statement this week, CAF communications director Alexandre Siewe said the organization had appointed the president of the South African Football Association, Danny Jordaan, as advisor in charge of sports and marketing to the presidency of the CAF.
Jacques Benard Anouma from Ivory Coast is now Senior Special Advisor to CAF President Patrice Motsepe. Hany Abou Rida from Egypt and Amaju Melvin Pinnick from Nigeria have also been appointed to CAF’s Emergency Committee. CAF Exco also incorporated the president of the Somalia Football Federation, Abdigani Said Arab, into its structures.
Meanwhile, CAF is exploring the possibility of having an independent structure, supported by the World Health Organization, to test for COVID-19 at AFCON 2021.
This follows repeated allegations that countries are weaponizing COVID-19 testing to prevent key opponents from entering the field of play during playoffs.
