CAF has decided on defending champion Atlas Lion who pulled out from the tournament due to flight disagreement with host Nation Algeria. CAF said that group C which Morocco is supposed to be in will remain with three teams and the first two will qualify for the next round.
Morocco had in December threatened to pull out of the biennial tournament unless they were allowed to fly in directly from their capital, Rabat, aboard the country’s national airline, Royal Air Maroc (RAM), a demand they sent to Caf but which Algeria flatly rejected.
The two countries cut diplomatic ties in August 2021 after which they closed the airspace, with all direct flights between them suspended.
Hosts Algeria refused Morocco’s demands for a direct flight from Rabat to Constantine, where their group matches were to be held, due to the icy diplomatic relations between the two countries.
CAF Statement:
“The Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”) Organising Committee for the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (“CHAN”) Algeria 2022 met today by the Regulations in Algiers.
The Committee decided that Group C will be composed of three teams and the first two teams will qualify for the knockout stages.
The Organising Committee has referred the matter of Morocco no show at yesterday’s scheduled fixture against Sudan to the competent judicial body.”
