The ongoing restriction on travels has forced the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to postpone the first round first leg World Cup Under-20 qualifying round of matches in the continent.
The much awaited first round first leg clash between Nigeria and Burkina Faso fixed for 3-5 September 2020 and with the return leg scheduled for 10-12 September 2020 will not hold.
The match should have been a return to international football after the global lockdown necessitated by Covid-19. The main event was originally scheduled to be hosted by Costa Rica and Panama .
Nigeria drew bye in the preliminary round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers while Burkina Faso edged out Gambia 3-2 to advance in January.
The Falconets were due to travel to face Burkina Faso on March 21 before welcoming the Stallions a week later at the Agege Stadium in Lagos but the Coronavirus pandemic forced the two legged games to be postponed.
After the postponement of the qualifiers, CAF said that the revised fixtures for the qualifiers will be announced in due course after consultation with the various stakeholders.
On March 2, 2020, the country’s football body appointed Moses Aduku as the First Assistant Coach, with Bilikisu Tijani as Second Assistant and Audu Yahaya as the team’s goalkeepers’ trainer.
The NFF had said that Aduku will be in charge of the team on an interim basis, pending the recruitment of a substantive head coach.
The winners between Nigeria and Burkina Faso will face Liberia or Cameroon in the third round of the qualifiers as the Nigerian side are seeking to qualify for the 10th edition.
Meanwhile, CAF is monitoring the situation closely and working with the relevant authorities with regards to hosting of the World Cup qualifying matches, and will make pronouncements accordingly.
