CAF to Hold Meeting to Decide Fate of AFCON 2015
The president of the Confederation of African Football, CAF, Issa Hayatou, is set to lead a delegation to Morocco on Monday after Executives of the federation to hold a meeting in Algeria on Sunday to decide the fate of the African Cup of Nations.
The Federation is to issue a statement declaring if the tournament will be held as originally planned in Morocco from January 17 to February 8 or if it will be postponed to mid-2015 or early 2016 since the North African country has withdrawn from hosting it.
Unconfirmed reports of midweek meetings involving Hayatou and Moroccan officials fuelled rumours that a deal had been struck to delay the tournament but a CAF spokesman has regarded this as completely untrue.
Regarding the country’s decision to back out of hosting the competition due to fears of spread of the Ebola virus disease, Moroccan sports minister Mohammed Ouzzine, said:
“Our demand for a postponement is motivated by the latest WHO report, which contains alarming numbers regarding the extent and spread of the virus. Morocco are facing a historical responsibility as there has never been such a deadly Ebola epidemic.
“We are not equipped for that and I cannot see other countries being able to ensure checks and controls for such a large number.”
CAF is reported to have approached several countries to host the tournament and Nigeria and Ghana are reportedly undecided while Algeria, Egypt, South Africa and Sudan declined.
