In this Dec 17, 2019 photo, the president of the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), Paraguayan Alejandro Dominguez, speaks during the Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana draw at the Conmebol headquarters in Luque, Paraguay. (NORBERTO DUARTE / AFP)

RIO DE JANEIRO - The FIFA council has backed plans for the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) to begin its 2022 World Cup qualifiers in September.

The South American qualifiers were postponed just days before their scheduled start in March because of the global health crisis

The intercontinental playoff has been postponed from March to June 2022, FIFA said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that the September start remained subject to "continuous monitoring" of the coronavirus pandemic and travel restrictions in the region.

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The South American qualifiers were postponed just days before their scheduled start in March because of the global health crisis. CONMEBOL has since stated that it hopes to begin the tournament in September.

The top four teams at the end of the 18-round home-and-away qualifying campaign will earn an automatic berth at football's showpiece event in Qatar. The fifth-ranked side will advance to an intercontinental playoff.