CAF to run qualifiers in 3 months

[SunNews]

Qualification matches for the 2015 African Cup of Nations will take place within three months next year, the Confederation of African Football has announced. It means 144 fixtures, involving 48 teams in 12 groups of four, will be played between September and November.

The schedule has been designed to fit in with world governing body Fifa's international match calendar. It is the first time that qualification matches will have to be arranged around the World Cup as the Nations Cup has been switched from even to odd years. As there are transport links difficulty among some African nations, the tight fixture schedule could cause problems – particularly on routes between the east and west of the continent.

A weekend match will be followed by a midweek game in three periods set aside by Fifa, with clubs directed to release their players for international duty for the duration. The dates are: 1-9 September, 6-14 October and 10-18 November. Namibia Football Association's President John Muinjo says "the schedule is too demanding".

He said: "Playing six international games in three months is hard on the health of players. "Also, some federations do not have the financial resources to transport their teams in speed and comfort over long distances in such a short space of time. "The smaller countries are going to be affected."

At the end of the group phase, the winners of each group and the best three runners up will advance to the final phase of qualification for the tournament, which will be staged by Morocco from 17 January to 7 February 2015. Caf also announced that the Nations Cup qualification preliminary round, featuring up to 12 of the lowest ranked African sides in a two-legged play-offs, will take place in July and August.

Via: Sun News Online