The football body also rules on what will happen if a number of players are tested positive for Covid-19.
The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has announced that five substitutions will be allowed in all the 52 matches at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The decision was confirmed a day before the opening fixture between Cameroon and Burkina Faso at the Olembe Stadium on January 9.
The African football body declared that teams will be permitted to make changes three times during the game while unused substitutions and opportunities are carried over to extra-time.
“Each team will be permitted to use a maximum of five substitutes,” read a statement on Caf’s website.
“To reduce disruption to the match, each team will have a maximum of three opportunities to make substitutions during the game; substitutions may also be made at half-time.
“If both teams make a substitution at the same time, this will count as one of the three opportunities for each team.
“Unused substitutions and opportunities are carried forward into extra time.
“Where extra time is played, teams will each be allowed one additional substitution, and will have one additional substitution opportunity; substitutions may also be made before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.”
Owing to the positive cases of coronavirus in the teams, Caf added that a game will be forfeited 2-0 if a team does not have a minimum of 11 players to play a match.
“If the result of the Covid-19 PCR test of any player is positive, such player will not be authorized to go to the stadium or participate in the applicable match,” it continued.
“A team will be required to play a match if they have a minimum of eleven (11) players available who have tested negative. In the event of the absence of a goalkeeper, another player from the team must replace the goalkeeper, provided the total number of available players is at least eleven.
“A team that does not have a minimum of eleven (11) players available will be considered to have lost the match 0-2.
“In exceptional cases, the Organizing Committee of the Africa Cup of Nations will take the appropriate decision.”
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