Afcon hosts ‘not ready’
There is a cloud of uncertainty on whether Cameroon will host the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals next January after a CAF inspection showed some of its facilities are not ready.
The Flames are one of the 24 teams that qualified for the continental showpiece.
Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) technical director Abdel Moneim Hussein on Monday told Egyptian newspaper Sada El Balad that shifting the finals to either Egypt or South Africa was a possibility in the event that Cameroon fails to complete the infrastructure.
He said: “CAF made a mistake when they decided to organise the tournament with the participation of 24 teams as except Egypt and South Africa, the other African States do not have the ability to host such events.
“A delegation from Fifa visited the stadiums, which are set to host the matches in Cameroon and it said that they are not ready to host the games.
“South Africa and Egypt are the only two countries, which are able to host the upcoming tournament and CAF edges closer to calling for Egypt to host the tournament.”
The draw for the tournament was initially scheduled for June 25, but CAF has since postponed it.
The rescheduling of the draw is connected with the looming change in the hosts.
If the Afcon finals go to Egypt, there will be no need to change the draw procedure since the Pharaohs qualified for the finals as Group G winners alongside Comoros.
But if the tournament goes to South Africa, Bafana, who did not qualify, will have to be incorporated as the 24th team.
Another alternative would be for South Africa to just host the event without participating.
Commenting on the uncertainty, Football Association of Malawi president Walter Nyamilandu said the Flames will be comfortable to play the final anywhere as long as it is safe.
“We are on stand-by. All we want is good hosting arrangements with sufficient facilities,” he said.
Malawi qualified for the finals after finishing as Group B runners-up alongside group winners Burkina Faso.
Participating teams meet their travel costs while CAF, through the hosts, provide accommodation, meals and logistics.
