"Suspension Of AFCON Matches A Blessing In Disguise," - ZIFA
The Zimbabwe Football Association has welcomed the decision by the Confederation of African Football to suspend Africa Cup of Nations qualifier matches due to the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Women’s 2020 AFCON qualifiers were slated for the first week of April while the Men’s 2021 AFCON qualifiers were scheduled to be played at the end of this month.
In a statement, ZIFA said that the suspension gives Zimbabwe ample time to fix local stadia which CAF had condemned. Part of the statement read:
The Zimbabwe Football Association welcomes the decision of CAF to postpone international matches due to debilitating effects of the COVID-19 virus.
ZIFA also informed the football fraternity that, as a result of the CAF decision, the Under 20 Women team will break camp on Monday 16 March 2020 while the CHAN team will continue in camp in line with Coach Loga’s 10-day preparation plan, pending CAF’s decision on whether the tournament will go ahead or not.
Zimbabwe had settled for a South African stadium after the ban and that could have resulted in the country losing thousands of dollars.
Football fans had also criticised relevant authorities for neglecting local stadia thereby robbing them of the opportunity to watch the national team playing live.
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