CAF has confirmed that teams including Ghana who will be participating in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament are allowed to increase their team squad from 23 to 28 players.
The change in the rule is implemented to limit the risk of teams having the issue of a lack of players during certain matches due to potential Covid-19-related instances.
This letter was written by Samson Adamu, Director of Competitions, and was sent to Associations that are Member Associations on the Sunday of October 24, 2021.
’In the occasion of the upcoming final tournament of the TOTALENERGIES Africa Cup of Nations – Cameroon 2021, we would like to provide you with the following decision:
1. Number of additional players – The Organizing Committee of the Africa Cup of Nations has decided to increase the number of players to 5 additional players. Consequently, the list of players could be increased to a maximum of 28 players. This decision was taken to allow the participating teams have a larger squad list for the competition in case some players test positive for COVID 19.
2. On the other hand, please note that your federation will bear the cost of the international travel as well as the accommodation of these additional players on the final list. In view of the above, we would like to inform you that the registration of the 5 additional players is only an option and not an obligation.
3. Number of substitute players: Concerning the number of substitutions, CAF will apply the law of three substitutions per match (+ 1 additional substitution in case of extra time) during the final tournament of the Africa Cup of Nations’’ the statement read.
This year’s 33rd Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon2021 which will begin next year will take place beginning on Sunday, January 9, 2022, until Sunday 6th February 2022.
Ghana is in a difficult group with Morocco, Gabon, and Comoros.
Source: Kingaziz.com