BEVERLY HILLS, March 10, (THEWILL) –Â In a shocking outcome for the young boys who had spent the better part of the year in camp preparing for their Total Under-17 African Cup of Nations (AFCON), where they are drawn against Tanzania, Algeria and Congo, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) rose from its Emergency Committee on Monday, March 08, 2021 in Rabat, Morocco and cancelled the entire tournament.
The Committee based its rationale on the constraints faced by some of the participating member associations as well as the host country which might affect the smooth running of the competition including the fact that the coronavirus pandemic continues to present significant challenges for the organisation of sporting events especially involving several nations.
Part of the factors that the Committee took into consideration included FIFA’s cancellation of the Under-17 World Cup for which the U-17 AFCON was meant to be a qualification exercise. In reaching the decision to cancel, the Committee further noted that it was the best decision especially given the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent.
This resurgence has seen the increase of restrictions on international travel across the globe with a major level of uncertainty about the evolution of the situation even with the possibility of vaccinations helping to curb the overall spread, vaccines which are not as readily available on the continent at the moment.
These concerns provided CAF the basis for its Committee to cancel the 2021 edition of the Total U-17 AFCON with just a few days left before it was meant to kick off on the Saturday, March 13 with the opening tie at 20:00 between hosts Morocco and Uganda at the Stade Moulay Hassan and Nigeria’s first game, the following day 14 March at 17:00 against Tanzania at the Stade El Bachir, Mohammédia.
It comes as disappointing news for Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets. The five-time world champions, who fought bravely through the qualifying series and against the U-17s defending champions of the WAFU-B series, Burkina Faso, earned a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the final qualifiers to reach the 2021 AFCON which was originally to be held between 13 March and 31 March.
As part of their diligent work to be ready for the tournament, the Golden Eaglets played out tough friendlies including defeating a team of world club champions Bayern Munich, whom they crushed 5-1 as reported by THEWILL.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
