The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appealed to the English FA and the UK government to give exemptions to African players in the English league to honor international invitations for next month’s FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Confederation issued a statement reacting to the Premier League’s official position issued on behalf of clubs, Tuesday, that players with games in Countries in UK’s Covid-19 red list will not be allowed to join their national teams in the international break.
The statement reads in part:
CAF has noted the current circumstances in place in Britain regarding the lack of sporting exemptions for players returning from several African countries after the international window next week.
…CAF has appealed as a matter of urgency, to the Football Association (FA) and the British Government that the same treatment previously applied to Europe now be extended to Africa under the principles of solidarity and equal treatment.
Notable among the Countries that will be affected by UK government’s directive is the Nigeria national team as well as Senegal, both with more than 12 important team players caught in the middle of the restrictions.
Meanwhile, the Spanish and Italian FAs and their respective governments have also issued similar directives to stop players leaving the Country for the international break if their national teams will play in Countries on the red list.
