Kampala, Mar 16 (IANS): The Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) has postponed the Tri-Nations Football tournament that was scheduled to take place on March 17-21 in Kampala.

Ahmed Hussein, the Communications manager of the football body, confirmed the development on Sunday evening, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We shall now have the tournament on March 24-28," added Hussein. He added that they have had to push the tournament by a week because of the current challenges of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and also to give the other teams time to prepare.

The Tri-Nations tournament to be played at the Ugandan National Stadium will attract hosts Uganda, Mali and Zambia. The three teams will use the tournament to prepare for the 2020 Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) slated for April 4-25 in Cameroon.

Although the tournament has been pushed forward, Uganda's head coach Johnathan McKinstry said he will continue preparing the team. "We need the players to get the cohesion which is very important," added the coach.

Some countries in Africa like Rwanda, South Sudan, Morocco and Algeria have suspended football matches because of the impact of the coronavirus.

The Uganda Premier League and the knock Out Uganda Cup matches have all continued to be played despite the threat of the coronavirus.