Will coronavirus affect continental football in Africa?
Nigeria was the first African country to report a confirmed case of the virus on the continent before Algeria followed suit. Senegal, Tunisia and Morocco have also confirmed that positive diagnosis of the virus in their countries this week.
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The virus has spread to 77 countries and territories around the world and 1 international conveyance (the Diamond Princess cruise ship harboured in Yokohama, Japan). It has infected over 92,000 people and killed slightly above 3,100 persons.
Already Tunisia is considering suspending any sporting activities in the country to avert any risk of spread of the virus.
“The sporting events are one of the things we are evaluating in the time being. We meet on a daily basis and we will decide the procedures to take,” health minister Abdel-Latif Al-Makky said.
“We will evaluate all the possible proceedings, including prohibiting travelling and footballing events, and we will see what’s best for everyone.”
There are a number of continental matches lined up this weekend and later in the month. Champions League and Confederation Cup quarterfinal matches will be taking place in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Egypt, Guinea and Tunisia.
2021 African Cup of Nations qualifying matches are set for March 25 to 31 across the continent before African Nations Championship finals take place in Cameroon in April.
CAF is yet to commend on the possibilities of cancelling the matches but individual countries might be forced to enforce preventive measures in case more cases are reported.
The highly infectious coronavirus has wreaked havoc on global sporting activities with major tournaments and championships suspended or cancelled as it continues to spread. Sporting activities in China, Japan andSouth Korea have been suspended while league matches in Italy have been postponed after the country recorded the highest outbreak in Europe.
United Kingdom health authorities are debating suspend the English Premier League alongside other major sporting activities to minimise the spread of this virus.
