The Executive Committee of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) at the weekend announced new rules on the number of players and substitutions.

CAF said teams participating in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, must play their fixtures if they have at least eleven players who have tested negative for COVID-19. should they be depleted by Covid-19 cases.

Cameroon’s match against Burkina Faso on Sunday will start the tournament, which features 52 fixtures, and the rules have been clarified about how teams will cope with absentees due to Covid-19.

Countries will be required to play a match if they have a minimum of 11 players who have tested negative, while in the absence of a goalkeeper, an outfield player from the team must replace the goalkeeper.

Any country that does not have a minimum of 11 players available will be considered to have lost the match 0-2.

5 substitutes are also allowed per match with a maximum of three opportunities to make substitutions during the game. If a match extends to extra time, teams will each be allowed one additional substitution, and will have one additional substitution opportunity.

CAF also said that in case there are no goalkeepers available in the squad, an outfield player will be required to play in goal.

“In exceptional cases, the organising committee of the Africa Cup of Nations will take the appropriate decision.”

Meanwhile, a number of teams preparing for the 2021 AFCON have reported positive COVID-19 cases, including Algeria, Ivory Coast and Morocco.

The tournament begins on Sunday evening, with host nation Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso.

Sky News