The Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) insists neither they nor the Ivorian government have been informed by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) of a possible shift in their hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021.

The Ivorian Federation reacted to an interview Caf president Ahmad gave to Afrique Media TV on Monday when Ahmad said that Cameroon – stripped of the 2019 hosting rights – would replace Ivory Coast as hosts in 2021 and the latter would instead stage the 2023 tournament.

“We made this decision to shift, because we saw that Ivory Coast also is not ready for 2021. To do things in a more humane way, in 2021, the Cameroonians will be ready.

“And in 2023, we will organise the tournament in Ivory Coast. This is the decision taken by the Caf Executive Committee on November 30, 2018 in Accra,” Ahmad said.

A letter from Ahmad to the Cameroon President Paul Biya dated 30 November 2018, seen by BBC Sport, has also surfaced in Cameroon where Ahmad has invited Cameroon to host the 2021 Nations Cup.

However, FIF revealed in a statement on Tuesday, that it has written to Caf to remind the body of the decision it took in 2014, and said the “Federation deplores this way of proceeding.”

“It is reported that the Ivorian state authorities and the leaders of the Ivorian Football Federation have been approached by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and that they would have been consulted on the recent decision taken by the Executive Committee of the said Confederation regarding the organisation of CAN 2021 which has been designated to the Ivory Coast, by the unanimous members of the Caf Executive Committee meeting in Addis Ababa in September 2014, following a successful bid,” the Ivorian Federation stated. 

“The Ivorian Football Federation wishes to formally deny this allegation. No Ivorian state authority, nor any leader of the Federation, at any level whatsoever, has been contacted or approached by the African Football Confederation before taking this decision.

“In addition, President Augustin Sidy Diallo was in Accra to attend the final of the CAN Women and at no time was he informed by any leader of the African Football Confederation with regards to anything relating to this subject.”

Caf, which is still looking for a new host for the 2019 Nations Cup, has not made any official statement on the reported swap and some top officials told the BBC that only president Ahmad or the general-secretary Amr Fahmy can confirm this latest development.

Guinea, who were given hosting rights for 2023, would also be affected by this shift. Guinea, which has never hosted the competition, promised to use Conakry, Kankan, Labe and Nzerekore as venues.

Back in October, Ivory Coast Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly had laid the foundation stone of a brand new football stadium in Yamoussoukro as work commenced in preparation for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Hundreds of people were present at the site for the 20,000-capacity stadium in the political capital, which is expected to be one of six venues for the tournament.

Coulibaly promised a budget of 300 million euros ($345 million) investment in infrastructure in preparation of the country’s first hosting of the event since 1984.

Work on a separate 60,000-capacity stadium in Abidjan began in 2016, while other new grounds are scheduled at San Pedro and Korhogo, and the renovation of a major stadium at Bouake (40,000) is also on the agenda.

Source: BBC

There have been mixed reactions in Cameroon after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) withdrew the 2019 continental soccer event-hosting rights from the central African state. The government has described the CAF decision as “total injustice” while some people say the suspension should act as an eye opener for the government to solve the crisis that has destabilized the English speaking regions for more than two years.

Night shift workers transport roofing material and seats to the Olembe stadium on the outskirts of Cameroon’s capital, Yaounde. It is here the government of Cameroon had announced the opening and closing matches of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations would take place.

Work supervisor Angel Thamin says they are working night and day so that the stadium should be ready by March 2019, three months before the official kickoff of the competition.

“For the main stadium, all the structure elements are here, almost a hundred percent,” he said. “When it comes to office ventilation as you can see, I mean, you know it is extremely advanced and the main stadium will be finished in terms of structures and as you can see now, it is not only foundations and columns, but you can see slabs that are ready.”

Issa Tchiroma, Cameroon government spokesperson and minister of communication says the government has instructed all companies working on infrastructure projects for the football feast to continue as if CAF had not stripped hosting rights from Cameroon.

“Cameroon has put in a creditable performance,” said Tchiroma. “It shall prove it to the entire world by completing with the same determination and on time, the construction of this modern infrastructure belonging to the Cameroonian people. Our country which has written the pages of African football in bold letters will not relent her effort in working with other African countries to develop football in our beloved Africa.”

Issa Tchiroma says Cameroon, a five-time African football champion, agreed to host the prestigious African event even though CAF decided to increase the size of the tournament from 16 to 24 teams without asking its opinion.

But during Friday’s extraordinary meeting of CAF’s executive committee in Accra, Ghana, the football body said the infrastructure was not ready. They also raised security concerns, especially in the restive English-speaking regions where armed conflicts have continued for more than two years, leading to the deaths of more than 1,200 civilians, fighters and military personnel, and leaving hundreds of thousands displaced.

Gladys Matute, a 24-year English-speaking Cameroonian says she is very okay with the decision to remove hosting rights from Cameroon until peace is negotiated in the restive regions.

“We cannot be hosting an event when we know that the two English speaking regions are not at peace,” she said. “They are killing people, so it is good for the president to come back and sit and talk with the Anglophone regions so that there should be some peace. Paul Biya should sit up and there should be some peace talks.”

Secondary school student Rose Ghani says she had expected CAF to withdraw the hosting rights a long time ago.

“We are not surprised because embassies have been refusing their citizens from traveling to Cameroon especially to the northwest and southwest,” she said. “And also we have the Boko Haram fight in the far north. Moreover, all the towns to host are suffering from insecurity. There is also fear that when the tournament will be going on the Ambazonian fighters might attack people in Yaounde.”

The 2019 finals will take place from June 15-July 13, a change from the traditional January period.

Cameroon had proposed five cities, Limbe, Bafoussam, Douala, Garoua and the capital Yaounde as competition venues.

CAF says it has initiated an urgent and open call for a new host.

Source: VOA

Just a few hours after stripping Cameroon of the rights to host the 2019 African Nations Cup, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad wrote to the country’s president Paul Biya proposing that it hosts the 2021 edition, Cameroonian media outlets reported on Saturday.

The CAF executive committee snubbed Cameroon on Friday, citing serious delays with its preparations in the midst of a violent separatist rebellion near two of the venues that are set to host the Nations Cup games.

“I would like, Mister President, to assure you, that seeing the efforts that you have already accomplished and in light of the importance of your personnel implication, CAF and its executive committee would be honored if Cameroon accepts to host the 2021 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations,” Ahmad reportedly said in a letter addressed to Biya and that was published by several Cameroonian media outlets.

The CAF chief also added that he believes that the 2021 tournament will allow Cameroon to “complete in comfort and safety, all the projects planned for this event.”

This offer comes as a consolation for the country that was stunned by the CAF decision, especially after Ahmad’s visit to Cameroon in October where he told Biya in front of reporters that “CAF has no Plan B, nor have we ever considered taking the Nations Cup away from Cameroon.”

The tournament is set to start in June. CAF have announced that a new bidding process will be opened and countries have until the end of December to submit bids.

Source: ahramonline

Cameroon has been stripped of the right to stage the 2019 African Nations Cup finals, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Friday. CAF confirmed the unanimous decision after a meeting of its executive committee in Accra. Morocco is the favourite to take over the hosting of the expanded 24-team tournament, which is being held from June 15-July 13.

The new host is expected to be named before the end of the year, a CAF executive committee member told Reuters. Cameroon’s ability to host the finals was first questioned when CAF announced in July last year that the tournament would have eight additional teams and only countries capable of putting on world-class tournament, with complete facilities and extensive infrastructure would be allowed to stage the event.

Morocco immediately said it was ready to replace Cameroon, beginning more than a year of claims and counter-claims that CAF intended taking the tournament away from Cameroon and giving it to the north African country.

CAF sent several inspection teams to Cameroon to check on the progress of the construction of five stadiums proposed for the tournament.

When CAF president Ahmad went to Cameroon in October he told the country’s President Paul Biya in front of assembled reporters: “CAF has no Plan B, nor have we ever considered taking the Nations Cup away from Cameroon.”

But last week he criticised Cameroon’s inability to regularise the affairs of its football federation, which has been under the control of a normalisation committee for more than a year while it struggles to adopt a new constitution and elect a new executive.

Next year’s Nations Cup will be the first moved to mid-year to end a long-standing clash between clubs and countries over the release of their players.

It will be the fourth successive Nations Cup to have a change of host. The 2013 finals were to be held in Libya but the security situation there meant they were moved to South Africa.

In 2015 Morocco had the hosting rights taken away after they expressed fears that travelling fans might bring in the Ebola virus and Equatorial Guinea stepped in with just six months to prepare.

The 2017 finals were originally due to be held in South Africa, but they had swapped with Libya, which was then also unable to host and Gabon took over.

Reuters

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) will discuss Friday in Accra the staging of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations following reports that host nation Cameroon’s preparations were in difficulties. AFCON The executive committee meets in the Ghanaian capital Accra on the sidelines of the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations tournament, an official of the Cairo-based told AFP.

A report of the last two inspection visits to central African state Cameroon will be made during the meeting. CAF inspectors recently travelled to the country, which last hosted the tournament in 1972, to check security, infrastructure, stadiums and accommodation. After the executive committee meeting, a decision whether Cameroon should continue as hosts of the June 15-July 13 African football showpiece is set to be made.

If Cameroon are rejected, CAF will have to launch a new application procedure to designate another host country for the biennial tournament first staged in Sudan 61 years ago. Morocco, who lost out to a United States/Mexico/Canada bid to host the 2026 World Cup, have regularly been reported as possible replacements for Cameroon.  At a September executive committee meeting in Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh, CAF noted “a significant delay in the realisation of the infrastructures” necessary for holding the Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

No plan B

However, CAF president Ahmad Ahmad declared the following month during a visit to Cameroon that his organisation “did not have a plan B. “CAF has never thought about withdrawing from the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon… it depends on Cameroon,” he stressed after talks with head of state Paul Biya. In Sharm el-Sheikh, Cameroon Football Federation head Happi Dieudonne assured executives that “Cameroon would be ready” to organise the Cup of Nations. Cameroon is experiencing a tense security situation with persistent attacks by Boko Haram jihadists in the north and a conflict between the army and separatists in the two English-speaking regions.

The 2019 Cup of Nations will be the first to feature 24 teams — up from 16 at the 2017 edition in Gabon. It will also be the first Cup of Nations played during June and July after the last CAF president, Issa Hayatou, refused to budge from the traditional January/February timetable. The January kick-off meant many Africans with clubs in the leading European leagues had to leave their clubs in the middle of the season for up to six weeks. Cameroon, as hosts, and 12 other countries, including record seven-time champions Egypt, have qualified for the 2019 tournament. The other 11 places will be decided during the final qualifiers in March.

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