Hope for Mwepu, and Daka as CAF requests British Government to grant an exemption to African players
Zambia’s hope of having the United Kingdom-based stars for their back-to-back Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers received a big boost after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) requested the British Government to grant an exemption to African players for next month’s international window.
Premier League clubs on Tuesday unanimously decided not to release players for matches in red-list countries during September’s international break.
Under current UK government rules, players would be forced to miss several games because of the 10-day isolation period required on return to the UK.
The league governing board in England, The Premier League said it “strongly supported” the decision, which “ is expected to apply to nearly 60 players from 19 clubs who are due to travel to 26 red-list countries that include Zambia.
CAF in a press statement accessed by the ZamFoot Crew argued that the British Government gave exemptions to enable the attendance of delegations and officials, amongst others, at the finals of the European Championship held less than two months ago.
“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, acting on behalf of all African Member Associations, African players, and fans, has urged the British Government to urgently provide the required exemptions to enable African players to compete for their countries in the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™️ qualifiers.
CAF notes that similar exemptions were granted by the British Government to enable the attendance of delegations and officials, amongst others, at the finals of the European Championship held less than two months ago.” read a statement from CAF.
CAF went on to say that the situation in certain countries on the UK red list is less severe than other countries not currently on this list or for which exemptions were previously provided.
“It is further noted that the circumstances in the African countries on the red list in many cases are in fact less severe than other countries not currently on this list or for which exemptions were previously provided.
Furthermore, CAF would like to reiterate that the upcoming matches will be delivered under the strict protocols developed by FIFA and applied across the world, as was the case in previous windows and continental tournaments successfully delivered without any incidents.
These protocols have now proven beyond a doubt that they mitigate the risks involved, reflecting the success of commensurate protocols applied domestically in England and other parts of the world.
In light of the above, 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.”
Brighton and Hove Albion star midfielder Enock Mwepu and Leicester City forward Patson Daka are the Chipolopolo players affected by this development.
Zambia will be away in Nouakchott on September 3 before hosting Tunisia four days later in Ndola in back-to-back Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The Chipolopolo are in Group B with Tunisia, Mauritania, and Equatorial Guinea.
Group winners will join nine other teams on the continent in the final qualifying round that will see teams paired in two-legged knockout ties.
The five winners will qualify for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.