As West Africa struggled to curb the spread Ebola, it was unclear whether or not AFCON would proceed at all. Cancelling or postponing the tournament would have meant millions of lost dollars in revenue for the Confederation of African Football. While many expressed concerns about the health dangers of hosting the tournament in January, others, such as Côte d’Ivoire’s Yaya Touré, said the competition must go on. “Me, I’m not really afraid. A very strong psychosis exists about this epidemic. The Cup is very important for Africa. It needs to take place.”
Source: TheGuardian.com, DailyMail.co.uk
After Morocco asked to postpone the tournament fearing foreign fans could spread Ebola, it was stripped of its hosting responsibility by the Confederation of African Football. The Moroccan team was disqualified from participating in the tournament.
After being asked by the Confederation of African Football about the possibility of stepping in as hosts for the tournament, Egypt said it would not assume hosting responsibilities for “economic and political reasons.” South Africa and Ghana, the 2013 and 2008 hosts respectively, also refused.
After Morocco was relieved of hosting duties, Nigeria, Angola, and Gabon were all considered possible hosts for the tournament. But it was Equatorial Guinea, the former 2012 co-host of the tournament with Gabon, that was chosen as the new host. The tournament will be held in Malabo, Bata, Mongomo, and Ebebiyin from Jan. 17 to Feb. 8, 2015.
Equatorial Guinea’s team was initially disqualified from competing after fielding an ineligible player. But after stepping up to assume hosting duties, the team was invited back into the tournament to take the spot of the disqualified Moroccan national team.
The FIFA Club World Cup will still be held in Morocco Dec. 10-20, 2014. Officials backed their decision to proceed with the Club World Cup, as they did not expect many supporters from Ebola-affected regoins to attend the tournament. The World Cup will feature teams from Morocco (Moghreb Tétouan) and Algeria (ES Sétif), as well as Champions League winners Real Madrid for Spain, and teams from Australia (Western Sydney Wanderers), Argentina (San Lorenzo), New Zealand (Auckland City), and Mexico (Cruz Azul).
Kofi Amoah, director of the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations held in Ghana, expressed fears that AFCON would struggle to begin on time. He said, “It could be a sham. I don’t think there is enough time for anyone to do it.” The CAF remains adamant, however, that the tournament will proceed as planned on Jan. 17, 2015.
Source: DailyMail.co.uk
As Côte d’Ivoire only needed a draw with Cameroon to qualify for the tournament, they stirred up the crowd by passing the ball around, while Cameroon refused to go on the attack either, as they had already qualified. At the end of the match, fans invaded the pitch and even managed to pull down a goal post, along with Gervinho’s shorts, before the police stepped in. The CAF is awaiting the referee’s match report on the incident, which resulted in police beating fans with batons, before ruling whether Côte d’Ivoire will face sanctions for the incident.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles, winners of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, failed to qualify for the 2015 installment. After being held to a 2-2 draw by South Africa, Nigeria was eliminated from the qualification rounds. South Africa’s Bafana Bafana and the Democratic Republic of Congo qualified from Group A instead.
Preparing to deal with Ebola fears, the Equatorial Guinea government bought special ambulances, ambulatory hospitals, and thermographic cameras designed to screen visitors for the virus, and recently took preparations one step further, hiring 50 Cuban doctors to be on hand to combat any Ebola cases that may arise during the tournament.
