Football lovers in Africa will be able to watch the first round of CAF qualifiers for the World Cup Qatar 2022 which will feature 28 teams competing for 14 slots in the group stage live.
These opening fixtures include local rivalries between 2019 Africa Cup of Nations participants Burundi and Tanzania and a West African derby between Liberia and Sierra Leone.
The games kick off around the continent between 4 and 10 September 2019.
According to a release, FIFA is unveiling a landmark initiative by investing in the production of the broadcasting feed, thus giving fans in Africa and around the world unprecedented access to the African qualifiers.
“The live streams and on-demand replays of these first-round encounters will be on FIFA.com and FIFA’s YouTube Channel,” a statement said.
“Bringing this exciting action to a global audience for the first time underscores FIFA’s ongoing digital transformation and its ongoing efforts to support football development in Africa and connect more fans with the beautiful game.”
FIFA acknowledged the fact that African qualifiers traditionally provide plenty of surprises and memorable matches.
Four of the five African teams at Germany 2006 were debutants at the global finals, including Angola and Togo, who each enter the fray for Qatar 2022 with challenging encounters in the opening qualifying round against Gambia and Comoros respectively.
“Thirteen African nations have reached the FIFA World Cup in the competition’s history, with Brazil 2014 marking the first time that two countries from the continent had advanced to the knockout stage in the same EDITION”, FIFA noted.
By Delrand Nii Ansah Mensah Whyte, Daily Mail GH
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