CAF approves five substitutes for 2020/2021 season

Africa’s football governing body Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed that the newly introduced five substitutes rule will continue till the 2020/21 football season.

Football’s global governing body FIFA had instituted the five substitutes per game module for leagues across the globe who were resuming after the Coronavirus pandemic, as a way to cushion excess injury effect on players.

Rising from its virtual Executive Committee meeting held on June 30, CAF ratified decisions that relate to the conclusion of the 2019/20 season as well as the procedure for the 2020/21 season; part of which is the issue of teams being able to introduce five substitutes in each game.

While the module will be in use for the concluding matches in the CAF Confederation Cup (CAFCC) and Champions League (CAFCL) billed for September, the Confederation also confirmed that it will be retained for the 2020/21 season.

“It has been decided that the five substitutes rule adopted by FIFA during the pandemic period will be applied for the IC 2020/2021 season,” read a CAF Memo sent to national Federations on Wednesday.

While it has been confirmed that the concluding part of this season’s intercontinental competitions will be played in September, CAF indicated that the start date for the registration and commencement of the next season will be communicated later.

No Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) club remains in the final four of both Champions League and Confederation Cup tournaments.