FIFA Council approves September start for CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers

ZURICH: The FIFA Council has approved the plans by the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) to begin its 2022 World Cup qualifiers in September. In a statement, FIFA however added that the September start remained subject to "continued monitoring" of the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions in the region.

The intercontinental playoff has been postponed from March to June 2022, FIFA said.

The South American qualifiers were postponed just days before their scheduled start in March because of the global health crisis, which has claimed more than 4.5 lakh lives across the world thus far. CONMEBOL has since stated that it hopes to begin the tournament in September. IANS

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