The Confederation of African Football (CAF) in a correspondence to the Sierra Leone Football Association on March 31, 2021 has ordered that it’s suspended group L match against Benin will be played in June.
The Sierra Leone Football Association in their statement said: “CAF has notified SLFA that the Organizing Committee of the African Cup of Nations has decided to postpone the match #151 between Sierra Leone and Benin in the 2021 AFCON Qualifiers until the next FIFA international window scheduled for June 2021.”
The statement went on to add that CAF did not state the yardstick used by the committee to arrive at the said decision.
The statement further stated that “Consequently, and in accordance with art. 83, 84 and 85 of the AFCON Regulations which adequately address issues around failure to report for a match and/or refusal to play, of which there have been several precedents the Sierra Leone Football Association has resolved to appeal the decision of the AFCON Organizing Committee.”
SLFA is therefore calling on every Sierra Leonean especially football loving fans to stay calm as the matter is currently being pursued in line with the appropriate statutory provisions.
According to CAF website: “The committee rational to move the dates was based on the fact that the match was to take place on the last day of the international window and, scheduling it for the following day (yesterday Wednesday) would have affected the player’s scheduled return to their respective clubs.”
CAF has informed the football federations of Sierra Leone and Benin about its decision and will provide further information on the rearranged fixture in due course.
