AFCON
WITH GUINEA’S HOSTING RIGHTS ALSO SHIFTED, IT WILL BE 12 YEARS IN 2025 SINCE A DESIGNATED HOST HOSTED AFCON
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
Confederation of African Football, CAF has announced Guinea as hosts of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. The country was originally to host in 2023, but a shift was effected following the unfolding logjam that has crept into continental premier competition after the withdrawal of 2019 hosting rights from Cameroon.
Ahmad, the CAF president later offered Cameroon the 2021 host rights and shifted that of Cote d’Ivoire, the initial host-designate to that of 2023.
Guinea will host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations instead of the 2023 edition. No designated host has hosted the competition since that of 2013 and the trend has now gone for a decade affecting seven editions.
Speaking on a visit to Guinea on Sunday when he was joined by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Ahmad told the media that Guinea’s President Alpha Condé had agreed to delay in hosting the tournament.
The Guinea Football Federation (Feguifoot) statement comes just a few days after its president Antonio Souare told BBC Sport they had not been “notified, neither by a letter or a decree” about the proposed delay in hosting.
In 2014, CAF awarded Nations Cup hosting rights to Cameroon (2019), Cote d’Ivoire (2021) and Guinea (2023).
After the reported changes to the schedule, Cote d’Ivoire – which is now set to host in 2023 – lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the CAF decision to hand the 2021 tournament to Cameroon.
On Wednesday, CAF will announce who will host this year’s finals – with both Egypt and South Africa contesting.
TALE OF HOSTING RIGHTS
YEAR Designated Hosts Eventual Hosts
2013 Libya South Africa
2015 Morocco Equatorial Guinea
2017 Libya Gabon
2019 Cameroon To be decided
2021 Cote d’Ivoire Assigned to Cameroon
2023 Guinea Assigned to Cote d’Ivoire
2025 Assigned to Guinea ????
