CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The first qualifier for the 2013 African Cup of Nations has been postponed because Lesotho’s team was unable to travel to Sao Tome e Principe in time for Sunday’s game.
The Confederation of African Football said the game will now be played Jan. 15. Lesotho could not find flights to the island nation off Africa’s west coast. The second leg remains scheduled for Jan. 22.
The start of qualifying for next year’s tournament was already troubled by the withdrawal of Swaziland ahead of its first-round series against Seychelles. Swaziland’s soccer federation said it could not afford to compete.
The 2012 African Cup starts Jan. 21, after which it will move to odd years to avoid clashing with the World Cup.
