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CAF AFFIRMS CAMEROON AS 2019 AFCON HOSTS

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BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

African football governing body, CAF has finally put to rest the speculations that the hosting rights of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations earlier awarded to Cameroon might be withdrawn. The rights were conferred by the ousted regime of Issa Hayatou, a Cameroonian.

The speculations gained ground following Issa Hayatou’s withdrawal of hosting rights of the U-17 African Nations Cup from Madagascar, the home country of Ahmad in the days leading to the elections in CAF this year’s March.

The speculations of likely withdrawal of hosting of the competition were strongly hinged retaliation. But according to a media release this Wednesday by CAF after a meeting in its 6 October headquarters at the outskirt of Cairo in Egypt the hosting rights for the premier African football tournament that had been awarded till 2023 remain valid.

The meeting of the Africa Cup of Nations Organizing Committee was personally chaired by CAF president, Ahmad who took the opportunity
CAF President Ahmad was keen to personally preside over this first meeting in order to situate the strategic and vital nature of this committee, in charge of the management of the major competition of CAF and which generates the most important revenues for the Confederation.

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The president also took the opportunity to reaffirm that at no time had any consideration been given to revisiting decisions already taken in conformity with the provisions of the Statutes and leading to the designation of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea, as host country of the next three editions of Total AFCON, namely 2019, 2021 and 2023.

“Our role is to best accompany Cameroon, which organizes the Afcon in 2019, in a new format, to properly fill in the list of requirements of the Host Agreement, which is not a static document and that you have the possibility to improve now that you have taken up your duties, “said the President to the members of the Committee.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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