The Confederation of African Handball (CAHB) announced, Thursday, December 9, the postponement of the African Cup of Nations. handball Senior Men, scheduled for January 13-23, 2022 in Guelmim, Morocco.

Algeria, the seven-time African champion, has decided to boycott The tournament due to the possibility of scheduling matches in the occupied desert city of El-Ayoun.

The decision to postpone was made the day after the lottery held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and made clear by the CAHB through appeals from participating countries.

“Following the appeals registered with the Secretariat of the Confederation of African Handball (CAHB) after the draw, the Executive Committee, meeting in an extraordinary session, on Thursday 9 December 2021, by video link, has taken action to postpone the 25th African Cup of Nations. Older men, after January 2022”, refers to the African body on its website, promising that the Federation Council “will conduct an in-depth examination of the file, during its session scheduled for December 28, 2021, with the aim of diligent follow-up.”

The press release did not specify the nature of the appeal and its authors. Algeria’s absence is a slap to the tournament that will be denied to an African handball player who missed only one out of 24 tournaments organized so far, the first in 1974.

The Greens won the title seven times. Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria have all won the disputed African Cup of Nations and no other country has played in the final since 1983. So observers are wondering if Algeria’s boycott is for nothing in this postponement, knowing that CAHB was not mentioned in its press release. Health causes related to the COVID-19 pandemic.