Eli Avot
CAF released a statement earlier today to postpone the CHAN 2020 tournament scheduled for next month in light of the threat posed by the CONVID 19 virus.
This means officially all CAF competitions are on hold until further notice. The CHAN 2020 is a tournament between member nations of CAF with only players plying their trade in their mother countries eligible to compete.
The statement from CAF read:
“A delegation made up of members of the CAF Medical Committee carried out an inspection visit to Cameroon for an update of the preventive measures being taken, as part of the preparations for the Total African Nations Championship (CHAN), in light of the evolving nature of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) across the world.”
“They also had discussions with the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Cameroon during their mission which lasted 14-15 March 2020.”
Their observations include;
– Preventive measures have been taken to control entry into the country and health facilities are ready to deal with the current situation
– The Cameroonian authorities have given all the guarantees for appropriate measures to ensure the smooth running of the competition
“However, despite the relatively low rate of the spread of COVID-19 on the continent at the moment compared to other parts of the world, it is difficult to predict its evolution in the coming days.”
“The restrictive and precautionary measures taken by various Governments to prevent the spread of the virus has made it increasingly difficult for people to move from one place to another.
Given all these challenges, and in order to avoid risking the health of players, officials, partners and fans, CAF in consultation with the relevant Cameroonian authorities (Local Organising Committee) has decided by mutual agreement, to postpone the CHAN initially planned for 4-25 April 2020 to a later date.
CAF would like to thank the Cameroonian authorities for their commitment and urge them to continue preparing for this competition which will take place as soon as conditions permit.”
A new date will be announced for the tournament in due course.
