U17 and U20 AFCONS to go on as planned despite FIFA’s cancellation of World Cup

The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) could continue with the organization and hosting of the U17 and U20 Africa Cup of Nations tournaments next year despite the cancellation of the World Cup by FIFA.

The world football governing body announced the cancellation of the two tournaments on Thursday citing the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic as the reason for the decision.

The tournaments were original scheduled to take place in Peru and Indonesia.

FIFA disclosed in their statement that the recent rise in the COVID-19 cases in the second wave is at an alarming rate, hence the decision to call-off the tournament.

The news of the cancellation of the tournaments was received with grim faces as several confederations are seriously preparing for the tournaments.

With CAF scheduled to host the U20 AFCON in Mauritania in February and the U17 AFCON in Morocco in July, fears were that the two tournaments could be called off.

But CAF is set to continue with the hosting of the two tournaments despite the fact that there will be no corresponding World Cups.

Sources close to CAF have hinted that the two tournaments will be hosted as scheduled and the FIFA decision will not, in any way, affect the continent’s youth tournaments.

With all Zonal Tournaments on the continent played, but for the North Africa Zone, CAF is set to host the U20 AFCON in Mauritania next year.

The tournament would have been used as the criteria for the selection of Africa’s representatives for the World Cup but with the cancellation of the FIFA tournaments, it will only serve as a marketing platform as well as national pride for the young players who will be representing their countries.

Ghana after winning the WAFU Zone B U20 Championship in Benin a week ago will be joined by Burkina Faso to represent the zone at the 2021 U20 AFCON to be played in Mauritania in February.