Morocco have confirmed that it will not be hosting the African Cup of Nations in 2015. The hosts who have previously been locked in talks with the Confederation of African Football after initially expressing hesitation over hosting the event, were given a deadline of November 8th to confirm its intention to host the event.
Having appeared to have confirmed that it will not host the event, Morocco again suggested the possibility of postponement stating that it will rather host the event in January 2016. Morocco again reiterated its fears over the potential spread of the deadly Ebola virus as the main reason for its decision.
Morocco announced its decision in a statement which attributed their decision to withdraw their hosting rights due to the unforeseen circumstance of a viral outbreak in Africa which has led to the deaths of almost 5000 people.
“Because of the occurrence of a force majeure, namely the risk of the pandemic Ebola virus and the adverse and uncontrollable consequences that could result… Morocco is making the request to postpone the African Nations Cup 2015/2016,” the statement read.
Morocco’s decision leaves CAF in a tight spot and it faces either scrambling to find a new host at short notice or cancel the showpiece event at great cost in terms of finances. The possibility of finding new hosts have also been hit by the posturing of both South Africa and Egypt who have rejected a chance to step in as hosts for the 2015 African Cup of Nations.
So far, CAF is yet to respond but it is expected that the governing body will make key announcements as regards the tournament after an executive committee meeting slated for today in Cairo.
CAF has in the past insisted that Morocco is exaggerating the health risks posed by the outbreak of the Ebola virus as CAF secretary-general Hachim Amrani insisted that CAF will “never take any risk” if it was unsure about ” whether a competition poses a threat to the hosts.”
CAF has also suggested that only a limited number of fans are expected from Ebola affected countries. As it stands, only Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are affected by the virus and CAF argues that Morocco’s safety measures will cope with any possible threats.
Should the 2015 African Cup of Nations be cancelled or postponed, it will be the first time since 1957 that the tournament schedule has changed apart from the switch from even numbered years to odd numbered years in 2012 and 2013.
