After almost a month of deliberations and consultations, Morocco have formally and finally announced that it will not be hosting the 2015 African Cup of Nations citing fears over the possible spread of the Ebola Virus Disease which has raged in certain parts of Africa since the outbreak in March this year.

CAF in response has swiftly announced that it will go ahead with the tournament despite Morocco’s withdrawal and was quick to announce that Morocco will be penalized for withdrawing as hosts by being disqualified for the 2015 African Cup of Nations regardless of the new hosts.

A statement on the CAF website confirmed the disqualification of Morocco as it read:

“Accordingly, and following the refusal of the Moroccan party, the Executive Committee has decided that the national team of Morocco is automatically disqualified and will not take part in the 30th edition of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.”

However, and perhaps most critically, CAF also stated that it will announce further sanctions on Morocco for its withdrawal as hosts of the tournament.

“The Organising Committee of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations will later apply the statutory provisions that are required due to a breach of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation regulatory and contractual provisions, including those set out in the Host Association Agreement signed between CAF and the Royal Moroccan Football Federation in April 2014.”

This part of CAF’s statement suggests that the body will seek to place more sanctions on Morocco in a grandstand attempt to ensure that a precedent  is set for future possible hosts. The goal for CAF will be to establish that its premier showpiece event, the AFCON, is valuable and it will be doubly eager to ensure that any notions that host nations can withdraw at will from their pre-agreed obligations is firmly knocked back.

To this end, CAF, as it has announced, will roll out more sanctions on Moroccan football. The big question as it stands is what this sanctions could be.

National Team bans

With the senior national football team already banned from the 2015 African Cup of Nations, CAF could well seek to place bans on other Moroccan national football teams including the junior male and female teams as well as the senior national female team. CAF may also seek to ban Morocco from future African Cup of Nations events as a single tournament ban is something Morocco is likely to have foreseen. Banning Morocco for the 2017 African Cup of Nations, which is still without a host, could also be on the cards. Banning the national teams is one of the most obvious penalties that CAF may place on Morocco for its decision to withdraw from hosting the African Cup of Nations.

Hosting bans

Most predictably, the Confederation of African Football will prevent Morocco from hosting continental tournaments for an extended length of time. The ban will extend to, asides from the African Cup of Nations, the African Women’s Championships and the African Youth Championships.

Club continental events

CAF might also decide to ban Moroccan clubs from participation in its continental events including the CAF Champions League which has a total purse of $1.5 million for winners and the CAF Confederations Cup which offers $625,000 to the winners.

Fines

Hefty monetary fines could also be an option for CAF as Morocco’s late withdrawal as hosts could result in significant financial losses for CAF in the event that they do not find suitable hosts in time.

Whatever the further sanctions are, CAF will feel hard done by Morocco”s decision to withdraw from hosting the 2015 African Cup of Nations. CAF has continually insisted that it has abided by technical guidance provided by the World Health Organization and have ascertained that while the Ebola outbreak posed a risk, it could be contained with forward thinking and strategic planning. The general feeling from within CAF will be that Morocco’s reasons for withdrawal do not fit seamlessly with the reality on ground.

Recent reports on social media also indicate that Morocco were offered the opportunity of banning all foreign fans from attending the tournament- essentially limiting, to the barest minimum, the number of inbound football fans for the tournament- but Morocco, according to reports, turned down the opportunity.

CAF’s choice(s) of sanctions on Morocco will be made public soon enough but for now, the Executive Committee will be totally focused on finding a new host and ensuring that it delivers a tournament with as little hitches as possible.