Host nation Togo has requested for the WAFU U-20 tournament to be postponed.
The country cites rising cases of COVID-19 in the country as reason for the request.
The tournament was scheduled to be held in Togo from November 18 to December 3 and would have served as qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Tanzania, which would have in turn determined Africa’s representatives for the 2021 FIFA U-20 world cup.
Togo say they will engage WAFU and CAF to find a new date for the competition.
Steven Lavon is a sports journalist based in Togo and he has told Citi Sports the news does not come to him as a surprised.
Ghana’s U-20 have been preparing for the competition for the last two months and were set to go to Sogakope today for the last leg of their preparations.
The Black Satellites have been drawn in Group B alongside Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
Read the full statement from the Togolese Football Federation as translated by Citi Sports:
The Togolese Football Federation is announcing to the sporting world that the WAFU Zone B tournament scheduled for Lome between November 18 and December has been postponed to a future date following a decision taken by the Togolese Government.
This decision follows a recent increase in Coronavirus positive cases in the Grand Lome area of Togo.
There will be deliberations between the West African Football Union and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to propose a new date taking the health situation in the country into consideration.
The Togolese Football Federation wishes to express its sincere apologies to all parties who have been affected by the latest developments.
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Signed
Col. Kossi Akpovy
November 4, 2020