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The start of the African group stage qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup have been shifted to September, Confederation of African Football has confirmed in a press release.
The qualifiers were initially due to begin in October last year, but the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic saw them shifted to June, and have been postponed again to September as some nations continue to suffer with the pandemic.
The preliminary World Cup competition will now be played in four windows starting in September, with two games each.
“The CAF Emergency Committee in consultation with FIFA, decided to postpone the CAF Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 that were due to be played in June 2021 after taking into consideration the current challenges caused by the Covid19 pandemic, and the need to ensure the optimal playing conditions for all participating teams,” reads part of a statement from CAF.
“CAF is reassessing its protocols and processes to enhance the implementation of Covid19 protocols, including specifically focusing on pre match testing which had been the source of challenges in previous window.”
Uganda are pitted in Group E with Mali, Rwanda and Kenya and their attempt to reach their first world cup finals will be at the Nyayo International Stadium against Kenya in September.
The 10 group winners will be drawn for a head-to-head two-legged challenge from which the five winners will occupy the five places at the Qatar World Cup.
