World Cup 2022: startup postponed to September, Senegal saved?

As expected, the agreement between FIFA and CAF has been reached. Following the suspension of many stadiums that do not meet international standards, this not being the reason mentioned in the communiqué, the qualifying matches scheduled in June in the African zone for the Qatar 2022 World Cup have been postponed until next September. Countries with substandard stadiums, such as Senegal, may have time to comply.

Initially scheduled for June, the first two days of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers for the African zone will finally take place in September, much to the delight of many countries, such as Senegal, who would have to play their home games away from home, due to stadiums that did not meet the standards of the International Federation of Football and Association (FIFA).

Of the 56 member countries, 22 were rejected and do not have a single standard stadium on their territory. « The Confederation of African Football said in a press release on Thursday 6 May 2021 that the decision to postpone the tournament was taken in view of the challenges posed by the management of the Covid-19 pandemic and the desire to guarantee optimal playing conditions for all participating teams.

This decision taken in consultation with FIFA will completely shift the program of African teams. Thus, the World Cup qualifiers will take place « during the international windows of September, October and November 2021, as well as March 2022. « 

However, this postponement is good news for Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mali, Burundi, Gambia, Central African Republic, Chad, Liberia, Niger and Sierra Leone, which could have their stadiums up to standard and perhaps have the infrastructure definitively approved. An inspection of CAF on the various sites is announced for next May 18.

For the particular case of Senegal, vice-champion of Africa, which had no stadium to standards, the postponement of the start of the first two days of the qualifiers for the World Cup Qatar 2022 is a good opportunity for the football authorities to rectify the situation before the deadline.