The Confederation of African Football has announced that the 2015 African Cup of Nations will be hosted by Equatorial Guinea. The tournament which has come under intense scrutiny owing to the withdrawal of hosting rights by Morocco will still go ahead on the pre-agreed dates: January 17 to February.
The announcement of the new hosts was made by CAF on a statement via its website. The statement indicated that high level meetings had been held between CAF and the top brass of the government of Equatorial Guinea.
“The Head of State and President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo this Friday 14 November met with the President of CAF Issa Hayatou concerning the possibility for Equatorial Guinea to host the Africa Cup of Nations Orange 2015,” it read.
“Following fraternal and fruitful discussions, the Head of State of Equatorial Guinea has agreed to host the tournament from January 17 to February 8, 2015.
Therefore, the Executive Committee of CAF confirms that the Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015 will be held in Equatorial Guinea on the dates agreed, and the national team of Equatorial Guinea is qualified for the final tournament as a representative of the country host.”
The 2015 African Cup of Nations has faced the possibility of cancellation or postponement but CAF has repeatedly insisted that it will not be changing the dates of the competition.
According to the statement by CAF, the 2015 African Cup of Nations will be hosted in four cities. The four cities selected for the finals are Malabo, Bata, Mongomo and Ebebiyin. The capacities of the stadiums to be used in Equatorial Guinea are as follows. The stadium in Bata seats 37,500 while the National Stadium in Malabo seats 15,250. The stadium in Ebebiyin has the lowest capacity with only 5000 seats while the Mongomo Stadium holds a capacity of 15,000.
Having faced the possibility of cancelling the tournament and thus incurring heavy financial costs, CAF, through the statement on the website thanked the people of Equatorial Guinea for stepping in as hosts. The statement said: “The Executive Committee of CAF and President Issa Hayatou seize this opportunity to express their sincere thanks and deep appreciation to the people of Equatorial Guinea, its government, and particularly to His Excellency the Head of State and President of the Republic Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.”
The statement confirms that the draws for the competition will be held on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
