The 2021 African Cup of Nations has been postponed until 2022, while the semi-finals of both the CAF Champions League and the Confederation Cup will be played in a single-leg format instead of in two, the Confederation of African Football decided on Tuesday according to beIN SPORTS channel. All continental sports activities have been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, including the CAF Champions League and the CAF Confederation Cup, which were originally scheduled to be played on 1 May. The Nations Cup was scheduled to start on 9 January, 2021 in Cameroon, but the fate of the continental tournament was also unclear given that the CAF has postponed three rounds of qualifiers until further notice. CAF's Executive Committee held a video conference on Tuesday morning to discuss the future of the major continental tournaments amid the pandemic. “The CAF Executive Committee decided that the Nations Cup will be held in Cameroon January 2022 instead of next year," beIN SPORTS reported after the meeting. “The Champions League semi-final will be played next September in Cameroon, while the Confederation Cup semi-final will be at the same month in Rabat, Morocco, but with a single-tie format for both tournaments,” the TV channel added. Prior to the CAF competitions' postponement, Egypt's big names, Ahly and Zamalek, had been set to play Champions League semi-finals against Moroccan sides Wydad de Casablanca and Raja de Casablanca respectively. Egypt, record seven-time African champions, are due to continue their campaign in the Nations Cup qualifiers. The Pharaohs were held to draws by minnows Kenya and Comoros in their opening qualifying games last year. The group winners will advance to the 2022 Nations Cup finals in Cameroon. Also on Tuesday, the CAF Executive Committee decided to postpone the 2020 African Nations Championship to in January 2022. (For more sports news and updates, follow Ahram Online Sports on Twitter at @AO_Sports and on Facebook at AhramOnlineSports.)
