Andre Ayew and Thomas Teye Partey of Ghana, referee Victor Gomes, 2019 AfconBackpagepix

Ghana fixtures and Covid-19: When will Afcon 2021 qualifying resume?

The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted Ghana's football calendar and the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers has been no exception.

The nation's domestic football competitions are currently on hold indefinitely following a ban on social gatherings, including sporting events.

World Cup qualifying matches of the national female U17 and U20 teams have had to be rescheduled.

Article continues below

But without a doubt, the Black Stars' Afcon 2021 qualifying series ranks as the most high-profile matches to be disrupted by the pandemic, which has so far infected over 4,527,823 persons worldwide and killed over 303,438.

Original Afcon 2021 qualifying schedule

Andy Yiadom of Ghana challenges Sfiso Hlanti of South Africa, November 2019

Drawn in Group C, Ghana opened their qualifying campaign with a fine 2-0 home triumph over South Africa last November.

Then there was a 1-0 away victory over Sao Tome and Principe four days later, taking the West Africans to the top of the table.

The Black Stars were due to return to action in March with a double-header against Sudan but the matchdays three and four games have had to be suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus situation.

The two matches were billed to be the first set of games for new Black Stars coach CK Akonnor who had named a 23-man squad for the fixtures.

Matchdays five and six were to come off in June and September, respectively, to conclude the qualifiers, where the group leaders gain automatic qualification for the final tournament in Cameroon. 


Covid-19 problems and way forward

Ghana vs Guinea Bissau 2019 AfconBackpagepix

Caf announced the postponement of Afcon 2021 matchdays three and four qualifiers on March 13, stating "a new schedule shall be announced in due time".

With the growing number of Covid-19 cases in most African countries and resultant uncertainties about the return of regular life, the continental football body is yet to reveal new dates for the affected games.

However, reports say the matchdays three and four double-header against Sudan will take place between August 31 to September 8, with the matchday five meeting with South Africa moving to October 5-13.

The final fixture against Sao Tome and Principe will then be played between November 9-17.

The new dates, if confirmed, will consequently disrupt the 2022 World Cup group stage qualifiers originally billed for October and November, as the latter set of games will have to be moved should Caf hesitate in postponing the Afcon finals in Cameroon, which is scheduled for January/February 2021.

Advertisement