Bafana Bafana AFCON

The next round of qualifying matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – which were scheduled for September – have been postponed. Photo: Thabang Lepule/BackpagePix

BREAKING: Bafana Bafana’s AFCON 2023 qualifiers POSTPONED

The next round of qualifying matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – which were scheduled for September – have been postponed.

Bafana Bafana AFCON

The next round of qualifying matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – which were scheduled for September – have been postponed. Photo: Thabang Lepule/BackpagePix

The next round of qualifying matches for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) – which were scheduled for September – have been pushed back to March next year to help the continent’s teams prepare for the Soccer World Cup in Qatar.

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The decision to delay the qualifiers was eased when the finals, originally scheduled to be held in June and July next year in the Ivory Coast, were postponed to January-February 2024 in a bid to avoid the rainy season.

“The postponement of the Cup of Nations offered an opportunity to reschedule the remaining qualifying matches,” a document addressed to the members of the executive committee of the CAF, which has been seen by AFP, outlined.

“It also makes it possible to open the dates in September to international friendly matches for preparation for the World Cup.”

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Senegal, who won the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations in February, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia have qualified for the World Cup to be staged in Qatar from November 21-December 18.

Bafana Bafana have an ‘easy’ AFCON group

The third and fourth rounds of qualifying for the 2023 AFCON (still called that despite the change in year) will take place in March 2023, match days five and six will be held in June with the sixth day set for September.

The first two rounds were completed in June this year.

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As a reminder, Bafana Bafana have been drawn in Group K alongside Morocco and Liberia.

Zimbabwe were due to be the fourth nation in the group, but FIFA banned Mzansi’s neighbours following government interference in football in the country.

The top two teams in the final standings will still progress to the finals.

Bafana Bafana lost 2-1 to Morocco in their lone qualifier to date, while Liberia went down 2-0 to Morocco which virtually assured Morocco’s spot in the finals, leaving a straight shoot-out between South Africa and Liberia for the second and final position.

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