Still unexplained
The hunt for the origins of Covid-19 has for the past four years been a tangled web of politics, power struggles, and international finger-pointing.
The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) has appealed to FIFA to postpone the qualifiers of the World Cup 2022 till at least September as a preventive measure against the deadly outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
“Request FIFA to postpone the South American qualifying rounds for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 to September 2020,” CONMEBOL said in a statement read.
“By doing this, the confederation ensures all precautions are taken against the global and regional spread of the coronavirus, in line with the recommendations of international health authorities,” it added.
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The South American qualifiers, which were earlier scheduled to be played on March 26, 27 and 31, have already been postponed beyond the original dates. Brazil were due to host Bolivia and travel to Peru in their first two qualifiers while Argentina were scheduled to host Ecuador and visit Bolivia.
The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to be played in Qatar from November 21 to December 18.
Earlier the South American governing body postponed the Copa America – scheduled to be played in June/July this year in Colombia and Argentina – to the summer of next year. The tournament followed the footsteps of its European counterpart as the 16th edition of the Euro has also been pushed to next year.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed over 10,000 people and infected more than 2,45,000 people worldwide, has severely affected this year’s sporting calendars.
Meanwhile, FIFA on Thursday decided to postpone the Club World Cup in 2021 to accommodate the Euro and Copa America during that time period.
Many sporting events across the world have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak which has claimed close to 10,000 lives so far.
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