Cameroon has been stripped of 2019 edition due to infrastructure and security concerns.
Cameroon is set to host the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) despite being stripped of the hosting rights to the 2019 tournament as a result of security fears, according to the president of the African soccer federation (Caf).
Ahmad Ahmad revealed that the decision had been made with the Ivory Coast, who had initially been named as the event’s host, seemingly unlikely to be ready to hold the competition.
At a meeting of the Caf executive committee in Accra last Friday, Cameroon’s organising committee was told to continue its preparations ahead of the 2021 edition of the event.
Ahmad said: “We have seen that Cote d’Ivoire will not be ready to host Afcon in 2021. So the executive committee has confirmed Cameroon as host of 2021.
“We have taken the decision for the good of African football on the basis of rules and regulations of the game in force.”
He added that Caf officials were prepared to defend their decision to move the tournament at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) if required.
However, a statement from the Ivory Coast Football Federation (Fif) has vehemently denied being made aware of the decision to take the hosting rights from the country, while also stating that it only learnt of the announcement through the media.
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| Caf Angers Ivory Coast By Handing Cameroon 2021 Afcon |
‘In addition, president Augustin Sidy Diallo was in Accra to attend the final of the Women’s Afcon and at no time was he informed by any leader of the Confederation of African Football regarding this matter. The Ivorian Football Federation deplores this way of handling the subject.’
Ahmad also defended the body’s initial decision to move next year’s tournament. He explained that his main reasoning centred on avoiding a repeat of the 2010 disaster, when players were attacked by separatists in Angola. The Togo team bus came under fire from gunmen, with three people killed and others injured.
With Cameroon facing similar security threats from both the Boko Haram militant organisation and another armed separatist movement, in an interview on the Afrique Media television channel, Ahmad said that Caf “can’t take that risk again.”
The Cameroonian government has also accepted responsibility for the situation, with the country lagging well behind in terms of its infrastructure in the build-up to the tournament.
