Castle Lager and its partner brands have postponed all 2020 Africa 5s activities to a later date yet to be determined this year following the outbreak of COVID-19 that has led to the postponement of all sporting activities around the world, including the Tokyo Olympics.

The postponement affects all participating countries, including Zambia, where the tournament was being championed by Carling Black Label.

This means the trade promotions for entering participants into the competition will not continue. Instead, entries for participants across all countries would only be done through web entries and would effectively be extended to July 31, 2020.

Castle Lager Africa Brand Director Kudzi Mathabire said in a statement issued, Thursday, that the impact of COVID-19 as well as the safety and well-being of their consumers and other role players was something they took extremely seriously.

“In light of measures implemented by Governments in the continent and the world over, we have come to a decision to postpone our planned activities to later this year. We understand that this decision may disappoint the football community, but in the spirit of encouraging social distancing and playing our part in curbing the virus, we have to make this difficult yet necessary decision on the basis that football is a highly social sport enjoyed in large groups.” Mathabire said.

Africa’s Premier Social League, Africa 5s, a leading movement to connect Africans from different walks of life and as with every year, the winning country champions will compete against other country champions in South Africa on a date that is yet to be confirmed.

While the 2020 Ultimate winners of the Africa 5s were set to win a football trip to Milan, Italy, hosted by campaign ambassador Samuel Eto’o, the seriousness of COVID-19 has led to the decision that for the first time in the history of the Africa 5s, the winners prize will be of monetary value totalling to $15,000 for each of the teams.

“It is unfortunate that participants will not be getting this experience. However, the safety of our consumers remains our number one priority. Furthermore, we truly believe that the teams can use the prize money to better their lives,” said Mathabire.