FIFA rearranges kick off time for Ethiopia- Burkina Faso match

Addis Ababa, November 18, 2023 (FBC) – FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football) has rearranged the kick off time for the World Cup 2026 Africa Zone qualifier match between Ethiopia and Burkina Faso in Morocco.

FIFA’s decision was announced following a request by Ethiopian Football Federation to change the kick off time of the match due to a heavy foggy weather condition in the area. EFF’s appeal came immediately after complaints of a foggy weather condition during Ethiopia’s opening match of this qualifying round against Sierra Leone on Wednesday 15 November at El-Abdi Stadium, El-Jadida, Morocco.

It is to be remembered that the game was interrupted for 30 minutes since the half time break and immediately after the restart of the second half due to a heavy foggy weather. Both teams shared a point with a dire 0 – 0 draw in the coastal city of Morocco.

In that regard, the Ethiopian Football Federation submitted its request to FIFA and expressed its complaint in a letter that the match should not have continued in that sort of difficult weather. EFF suggested that the match should have been called off and postponed to another date.

For this reason, the Ethiopian Football Federation confirmed that it has submitted a request to FIFA to change the kick off time for the match between the Walias and their Burkinabe counterparts on Tuesday 21 November 2023 at El-Abdi Stadium, El-Jadida, Morocco.

After receiving the request from EFF, FIFA changed the match kick off time from 10:00 pm to 4:00 pm (GMT +3), the Federation confirmed on Friday.

EFF posted images showing the Walias continued preparations at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, ahead of their second match on Tuesday. The Federation confirmed that midfielder Surafel Dagnachew has missed the recovery session due to a minor groin injury which could potentially rule him out of the next match, but other team members are said to be in good match fitness.

It is known that the Ethiopia national football team will play home fixtures outside the home soil due to lack of stadiums in the country that fulfill the requirements of FIFA. However, the Federation recently confirmed that works are being intensified to renovate stadiums in the country in conformance to FIFA’s requirements and ready them for the Walias’ next home games.

For the FIFA World Cup 2026 Africa Zone Qualifiers, Ethiopia has been drawn in Group A with neighboring Djibouti, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Egypt.