Football fans around the world will be able to watch the preliminary round of the CAF qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar.
FIFA plans to make all 28 matches from this round available on FIFA.com or on its YouTube channel as live, delayed or with highlights.
A list of the first-round ties which will be played between September 4 and 10, and broadcast live will be published on FIFA.com.
“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 said in a statement on its website.
Footballers, active and retired, took to social media to show their appreciation for the initiative by FIFA.
Thank you FIFA for giving the world the opportunity to follow the opening African Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be live streamed on https://t.co/dSPkiXlJBT. Great initiative! Congrats!
— Didier Drogba (@didierdrogba) September 3, 2019
انا هتابع مباريات الجولة الأولى من تصفيات افريقيا المؤهلة لكأس العالم 2022 مباشرة على @FIFAcom او على قناتهم الرسمية على يوتيوب
I'll be watching the first round of African Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2022 on https://t.co/D2I9R20ccI or on the FIFA YouTube channel— Essam El-Hadary (@ElHadary) September 3, 2019
Suivez les qualifications africaines pour la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2022 sur https://t.co/EbKiWuJc5T
Salut – https://t.co/EbKiWuJc5T retransmettra les qualifications africaines pour la Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2022. C'est un évènement à ne pas manquer.— Marcel Desailly (@marceldesailly) September 3, 2019
FIFA will be broadcasting six matches live on Wednesday: Burundi v Tanzania, Ethiopia v Lesotho, South Sudan v Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius v Mozambique, Sao Tome e Principe v Guinea Bissau and Liberia v Sierra Leone.
The winners of the preliminary round of African qualifiers will join the continent’s 26 exempted teams in the group stage of the qualifiers.
There will be 10 groups of four teams. The group winners will then be drawn to play against each other in a two-legged tie with the five winners eventually advancing to represent Africa at the World Cup.
