Super Eagles who missed a ticket to the World cup in Qatar have been handed an elongated holiday after CAF announced postponement of the next round of Nations cup qualifiers billed for September.
The first rounds of the qualifiers were completed in June. The Continental football ruling body said the qualifiers have now been pushed to March next year to help the teams that qualified for the world cup prepare properly for the November/December event.
The decision to delay the qualifiers was eased when the finals, originally scheduled to be held in June and July next year in Ivory Coast, were postponed to January-February 2024 in a bid to avoid the rainy season.
“The postponement of the Cup of Nations offered an opportunity to reschedule the remaining qualifying matches,” a document addressed to the members of the executive committee of the CAF, which has been seen by AFP, outlined.
“It also makes it possible to open the dates in September to international friendly matches for preparation for the World Cup.”
Senegal, who won the 2022 Cup of Nations in February, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia have qualified for the World Cup to be staged in Qatar from November 21-December 18.
The third and fourth rounds of qualifying for the 2024 Cup of Nations will take place in March 2023, match days five and six will be held in June with the sixth day set for September.
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