Rabat- The 11th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup will be held, as scheduled, from 10-20 December in Morocco, said the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA), following rumors that had mentioned, a few days ago, a possible change of site, because of the Ebola epidemic in Africa.
“The health of players, officials and fans is a top priority in any FIFA competition,” argued the world body in a statement released Thursday.
“According to the World Health Organization, there are currently no reported cases of Ebola in Morocco. Therefore, there is no need to discuss a possible change in the host country. If the situation were to change, we will be in contact with the participating clubs,” it said.
FIFA also announced that it will issue a circular to all participating clubs containing medical information related to the tournament, about two months before the start of the competition, noting that it is “standard procedure in all FIFA competitions.
“Currently, five teams have already qualified for the Morocco 2014 FIFA Club World Cup: Moghreb Tetouan as a champion of the host country, Real Madrid (Union of European Football Associations), Auckland City club (Confederation of Oceania), San Lorenzo (South American Confederation) and Cruz Azul (North American, Central American and Caribbean Confederation CONCACAF).
The African and the Asian champions, which will be known in November, will complete the seven teams competing for the 2014 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup.
The last edition of the tournament, which was also held in Morocco in the cities of Marrakech and Agadir, was won by German club Bayern Munich after it beat Morocco’s Raja of Casablanca by 2 goals to 0.
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