Coronavirus in sport: Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers of CONMEBOL to start in September

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Bengaluru, April 18: The South American Football Confederation's (CONMEBOL) qualifying matches of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, delayed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, will begin in September.

"For the moment, the start fixed by (FIFA) for its celebration is September 4-8 in the format already established," a CONMEBOL statement said.

It may be recalled that last month, CONMEBOL had asked FIFA to delay the start of the qualification campaign as the first two rounds of matches at the end of March could not be played due to football being suspended on the continent over the deadly virus.

All 10 teams are due to play each other home and away in a round robin format. That amounts to 18 matches, far more than most other continental federations organise. The first two rounds need to be re-arranged, but CONMEBOL said any new dates would have to be ratified by FIFA.

And with the Copa America being postponed until next year, the opportunities to fit in an extra two rounds of matches appear few. As it is, two rounds of World Cup qualifiers are due to be played on June 3 and 8, 2021, with the Copa now set to begin on June 11.

Meanwhile, CONMEBOL said that no restart date could yet be fixed for its flagship club competitions -- the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana.

However, it reiterated its determination to complete the 2020 editions of both tournaments -- the South American equivalents of the UEFA Champions League and Europa League.

(With AFP inputs)