Rabat – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has reportedly stripped the hosting rights of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) from Cameroon because it was struggling to finish building the football venues.
Moroccan sports television channel Arriyadia said that CAF has “officially” stripped Cameroon of the rights.
The decision was made in a meeting in Accra today after the latest reports from CAF’s inspection missions revealed that Cameroon was not ready to host the tournament.
CAN, also called AFCON, will take place June 15 to July 13, 2019. CAF will now launch a new bidding process to appoint another host for the African tournament.
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Local and international news outlets have repeatedly speculated this year that Morocco might replace Cameroon. South Africa might also try to clinch the hosting rights.
Earlier this year, Morocco’s sports officials denied that Morocco wanted to replace Cameroon and repeatedly said that Morocco supports Cameroon’s bid. But after Cameroon’s failure to get ready in time, Morocco could be a possible option.
In August, CAF Chairman Ahmad Ahmad cast doubt over Cameroon’s readiness to host Africa’s biggest football event.
“I am not sure Cameroon is ready to host the AFCON,” Ahmad told KweseESPN.
CAN 2019 will boast the participation of 24 national teams, up from the usual 16.
After playing qualifier games against Cameroon, Malawi, and the Comoros and scoring a satisfying 2-0 win against Cameroon, Morocco has qualified for the next round of the competition.
