The Gambia coach calls for Nations Cup qualifying delay

This month's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers between The Gambia and Gabon should be postponed as the former cannot access seven key Italy-based players, said Scorpions coach Tom Saintfiet.

On Monday, Italy announced that the entire country - which is Europe's worst affected by coronavirus - was in lockdown as it battles to contain the outbreak.

With seven of The Gambia's players - including defender and captain Omar Colley, who plays for Sampdoria - based with Italian clubs, and thus now inaccessible, Saintfiet says it would be too unfair to play the qualifiers.

Last week, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) said it had no plans to take any immediate action over the continuing spread of coronavirus on the continent but did not rule out 'matches behind closed doors, postponements or even cancellations' in the future.

"We cannot expect to play qualification games when some countries can't use many of their best players - not because of injuries or personal reasons, but because of an international problem," Saintfiet told BBC Sport Africa.