Fifa, world football’s governing body, has pledged to conform to health protocols to combat the global Covid-19 pandemic ahead of 2022 World Cup qualifiers that are scheduled to begin next month.

A total of 135 nations are due to be in action on the road to Qatar, including Bermuda, who have been pitted in group B alongside Canada, Aruba, Suriname and Cayman Islands.

“We will certainly not take any risk for the health of anyone when we play football,” Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, said at a recent World Health Organisation news conference. “We will see where we can play, in what conditions, and do it by adhering to a clear health protocol.”

Bermuda were originally scheduled to travel to Canada last October for their group opener before facing Aruba at home, Suriname away and Cayman Islands at home.

However, the fixtures were pushed back several months after Fifa and Concacaf decided that international matches scheduled for the original dates were too early considering the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then it has been announced that Bermuda will begin their campaign against group favourites Canada on March 25.

But the fixture has been thrown in doubt after the Canadian Government imposed stricter restrictions on travellers to combat a more contagious variant of the virus last week.

The country has suspended airline service to Mexico and all Caribbean destinations until April 30.

The stricter restrictions also include mandatory PCR testing at the airport for people returning to Canada, as well as making it mandatory for travellers to quarantine in hotels at their own expense when they arrive in the country.

Canada already requires those entering the country to self-isolate for 14 days and to present a negative Covid-19 test taken within three days before arrival.

The travel plans of Kyle Lightbourne’s squad had been already affected significantly after Air Canada’s service to Bermuda was temporarily suspended last month until at least April 12.

All attempts by The Royal Gazette to obtain comment on the situation from Bermuda Football Association president Mark Wade have been met with silence.

The six group winners at the end of the first round of the Concacaf qualifiers will progress to the second round.

There, teams will play home and away in a direct elimination format, with the three winners progressing to the final round.

The final round will see those three teams join the five top-ranked teams – Mexico, United States, Costa Rica, Jamaica and Honduras.

The eight teams will play each other home and away, with the top three qualifying directly to the World Cup. The fourth-placed team will qualify for the Intercontinental play-off, scheduled for June 2022.