African football chiefs hold talks over cancellation of 2022 Africa Cup of Nations due to Omicron Covid-19 variant’

The Confederation of African Football [CAF] are reportedly holding talks over cancelling the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations [AFCON] tournament in Cameroon next month.

The Cameroon tournament is due to start on January 9 and run until February 6, with several Premier League players – including Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane set to leave their clubs mid-season to take part in the competition.

According to French news outlet RMC Sport, the Central African Federation (CAF) could announce a cancellation as the Omicron variant continues to ravage the continent.

The tournament’s organizing committee met with the CAF at the end of October to unveil their findings in a preparation report for the tournament. The committee announced that ‘urgent attention’ was needed for the competition to go ahead safely.

One of the areas that required urgent attention was ‘sanitary matters’ relating to the coronavirus pandemic and the welcoming of fans into the Cameroon stadia. However, the same committee signed off the Organising Agreement between AFCON and Cameroon, which states the tournament was set to go ahead as planned.

But there are doubts about staging the tournament, which will be welcome news to Liverpool, who will lose key attacking duo, Salah and Mane, for a key part of their Premier League title challenge, should the competition take place.