The Confederation Of African Football (CAF) Emergency Committee has approved the resumption of dates for Qualifiers of the Total Africa Cup Of Nations, Cameroon 2021 and the Group stages of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
A busy schedule awaits the participating teams with double-headers from November 2020 through to November 2021 in the battle for spots to the final tournament of the two competitions.
The schedules for the two competitions have had to be revised in light of the COVID-19 outbreak which halted many sporting activities across the continent and beyond for some time.
For Cameroon 2021, the qualifiers resume on 9-17 November 2020 with the Day 3 & 4 matches whilst the penultimate and ultimate matches take place on 22-30 March 2021. The resumption of matches in November will see the Gambia Scorpions and the Gabonese Panthers square off in a thrilling affairs.
CAF has further announced that the 40 teams in contention for the five slots for Qatar 2022 will commence the journey between 31 May and 15 June 2021 with the Day 1 & 2 matches. From 30 August till 7 September, the Day 3 & 4 matches are expected to take place with Day 5 & 6 matches fixed for 4-12 October 2021. The Playoff matches have been scheduled for 8-16 November 2021.
Meanwhile, CAF is monitoring the situation closely and working with the relevant authorities with regards to the hosting of the matches, and will make pronouncements accordingly in the event of developments that will affect playing a match at the designated venue.
The Gambia leads Group D on 4 points joint with Gabon but on a better goal difference +2. DR Congo and Angola are trailing on 3rd and 4th with the latter on zero point.
The Gambia is yet to feature at CAF’s flagship tournament. However, with Coach Tom Saintfiet at the helm of affairs for the gallant Scorpions, there is every reason of hope for the Gambia’s maiden appearance to Cameroon 2021.
The Scorpions opened their campaign with an emphatic 3-1 win away in Luanda after coming from behind with two goals from Assan Ceesay and a late Sulayman Marreh strike to take all three points away from home. The victory was Gambia’s first away triumph in a competitive fixture for 36 years since the Gambia defeated Mauritania in 1983. This has highlighted the progress made under Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet. The win was boosted by a home draw to DR Congo at One apiece.
