The first window of qualifying for the CONCACAF W Championship has been moved from November to February ©Getty Images

Qualifiers for the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) W Championship have been postponed to February 2022 as a result of COVID-19-related travel restrictions.

The fixtures were originally scheduled to begin next month, but challenges travelling into certain countries presented difficulties and led CONCACAF to delay the start of the qualification process.

The first window of games will now run from February 16 to 22, it is hoped, while the second window is set for April 6 to 12.

April's schedule remains unchanged.

There are set to be 30 teams competing across six groups of five.

CONCACAF W Championship qualifiers are now set to begin on February 16 2022 ©Getty Images
CONCACAF W Championship qualifiers are now set to begin on February 16 2022 ©Getty Images

Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago are the favourites in each group and have been pre-seeded as a result.

Each nation will play two matches at home and two matches away, with the top finisher in each group advancing to the CONCACAF W Championship.

They will join the region's two top-ranked countries, the United States and Canada, who received a bye to the tournament, which is set to take place from July 9 to 24.

The CONCACAF W Championship qualifiers form part of a busy year for women's football in the region, with the W Championship, under-20 and under-17 competitions all scheduled next year as well as the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica.

At the W Championship, the top two teams in each of the two groups will qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.