At its meeting on Thursday (28 May 2020) via video-conference, the CAF Emergency Committee has approved the immediate distribution of financial grants to Member Associations (MA) to support the management of football at the domestic levels hugely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A total of USD 10.8 Million will be transferred to the 54 MA’s on the continent as part of a relief plan to ease the financial burden on the African football community during these unprecedented times.
“Due to the fast-spread of COVID-19, African MA’s have suspended all domestic competitions, which has brought about huge financial burdens on their shoulders. CAF has thus decided to wave the eligibility requirements to access the annual grants, so all MA’s can benefit during this difficult period,” said CAF President Ahmad Ahmad.
Also, CAF is assessing the opportunity of additional financial support to MA’s for the resumption and organisation of their domestic competitions.
Two weeks ago, CAF announced the distribution of USD 3.5 Million to the participants of the Interclub competitions for the 2019/20 season. The two club competitions, Total CAF Champions League and Total CAF Confederation Cup, were suspended after the quarter-final matches due to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, CAF is monitoring the situation closely and working with the relevant authorities including the Wealth Health Organization (WHO), FIFA amongst others on the impact of the virus on the continent, and will announce developments to our competitions at the appropriate time.