The 2019 African Cup of Nations finals scheduled to take place in Egypt, has been shifted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The new date for the games released by CAF on Monday, will see the AFCON finals begin one week after its original date (now June 21st), to allow players rest properly after Ramadan.
A request was made to CAF by a few North African nations who have qualified for the finals, including Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, amongst others.
Consequent on the request, a meeting of the CAF Emergency Committee was held on Saturday, where the decision was reached by the continental football governing body to push back the finals by a week.
The first ever 24-team AFCON finals will now begin on June 21st, with the final expected to come up on July 19th.
CAF also revealed that the group stage draws will take place in Cairo, Egypt, on April 12.
A total of fourteen countries have already qualified for the 32nd edition of the AFCON finals, including tournament debutants, Madagascar and Mauritania, who both qualified in October 2018 and November 2018 respectively.
The remaining 10 slots will be decided in the final qualification series to be held in March 2019.
Qualified Teams For AFCON 2019
Nigeria (Champion: 1980, 1994, 2013)
Egypt (Champion: 1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010)
Tunisia (Champion: 2004)
Senegal (Runner up: 2002)
Morocco (Champion: 1976)
Uganda (Runner up: 1978)
Mali (Runner up: 1972)
Mauritania (Debut)
Kenya (Best Performance: Group Stage)
Ghana (Champion: 1963, 1965, 1978, 1982)
Ivory Coast (Champion: 1992, 2015)
Algeria (Champion: 1990)
Guinea (Runner up: 1976)
Madagascar (Debut)
Source: Vanguard NG
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