The Confederation of African Football CAF has announced the postponment of the 2020 Total African Nations Championship (CHAN) which was due to be held in Cameroon as part of the global effort to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.

CAF said in an official statement on Tuesday 17th March, 2020, that the decision was arrived at after wide consultation and an on the spot check by a medical team sent to Cameroon to assess the situation on the ground.

“Following the growing concern of the COVID-19 virus and the report of the recently concluded Medical inspection visit to the host country of the Total CHAN, Cameroon 2020, CAF Emergency Committee decided today to postpone the competition until further notice.

“The following factors were taken into consideration by the Medical Committee in its recommendation to the Emergency Committee. – Even though the situation is considered as being under control in Cameroon and as per the advice from the WHO, the crisis is not yet stabilized yet in Africa and it’s very difficult to predict its evolution in the next few days; –

“Travelling across the continent is getting increasingly complicated and even impossible for some countries, due to the restrictions put in place by the different governments.

“For all these reasons, and to avoid any useless risk, the Medical Committee’s proposal was to unanimously postpone the CHAN.”

“We would like to assure you that CAF is monitoring the situation closely and working with the competent authorities such as the WHO on the impact of the virus in the continent and CAF Competitions.”

CAF Administration will propose the potential new dates in due time depending on the improvement of the situation.

The CHAN tournament in Cameroon was set to begin on the 4th of April, 2020.