Following consultation with the South American member associations, FIFA and the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) have agreed to postpone the upcoming South American qualifiers until October.

Competition was due to take place in September, but this was deemed as too soon because of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Ten teams are involved in the South American qualifying matches, including five-time winners Brazil.

Argentina and Uruguay, who have earned two world titles each, are also set to feature. 

The teams are scheduled to play home-and-away matches in a round-robin format. 

The top four teams will qualify for the World Cup, while the fifth-placed team advances to the inter-confederation playoffs.

The CONMEBOL Council also asked FIFA to include a replacement international window in January 2022, allowing the South American qualifiers to be completed by March 2022. 

This request will be dealt with by the Bureau of the FIFA Council at the next meeting. 

The next edition of the World Cup is due to be held in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 2022. 

Thirty teams will compete in total.