Africa
Egypt and South Africa have officially put in bids to host the next African Cup of Nations, AFCON; the continent’s football governing body said on Saturday.
The Confederation of African Football, CAF, revoked hosting rights of Cameroon, who till early December were billed to host the tournament slated for mid-2019.
CAF cited inability to complete logistics and insecurity in parts of the country as part of the reason Cameroon could not host the competition. Yaounde has vehemently rejected the claims.
Bidding was reopened for hosts with South Africa being the first to express interest. Egypt threw their hat in only after Morocco – who had hosted the CHAN earlier this year, opted out.
CAF statement on official bids for AFCON 2019
Following the statement issued on 6 December 2018 concerning the process to agree on a new host country of the Total Africa Cup of Nations 2019 (AFCON), the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) today confirms that:
Formal applications have been received from the Egyptian and South African football associations to host the AFCON 2019;
The international consulting firm Roland Berger will now review the bids and seek additional materials and conduct inspection visits where required;
A CAF Extraordinary Executive Committee Meeting will take place in Dakar, Senegal on 9th January 2019 to agree on the new AFCON 2019 Host Nation. An announcement will be made by CAF after that meeting.
CAF will make further statements when appropriate.
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