African Mini-football Cup on Hold due to Covid-19
The 2020 African Mini-football Cup of Nations has been postponed till 2021 due to COVID 19 pandemic that altered several sporting calendars.
Nigeria won the hosting right of the sophomore edition of the tournament which was initially scheduled to hold in April 2020. However, the COVID 19 pandemic resulted in an indefinite suspension of the tournament in March
Speaking at the inauguration of Oyo State and Osun State chapters of the Nigeria Mini-football Association, Secretary-General of the body, Davids Abidemi Adewoye revealed that the continental showpiece has been rescheduled for next year as the country intensifies preparation. According to him he said: “The second edition of the African Minifootball Cup of Nations is not going to hold this year. It would be held in the first quarter of next year. “
There has been a circular from the African Minifootball Federation that we should pick either February or March 2021 for the Nations Cup,” said Adewoye. He further disclosed the level of preparation and the strategies put in place to ease the hosting process of the tournament amid the COVID 19 guidelines in Nigeria. “We have not stopped planning since COVID started.
We don’t want to be caught unaware. The host venue at the Ilaji Sports Resorts is almost ready. As soon as the ban on contact sports is lifted, we plan to hold the first edition of Omi tuntun inter-local government at the venue to help develop the sports in Nigeria while test running the venue and equipment ahead of the cup of Nations,” he said. The first edition of the Minifootball Cup of Nations held in Libya in 2018 with Ivory Coast emerging as Champions following a 3-1 penalty shootout win over Senegal after regulation time ended in a 3-3 scoreline.