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Rabat – Amid speculation suggesting that Mauritania will back up Algeria’s candidacy to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), the President of the Mauritanian Football Federation (FFRIM) Ahmed Yahya came forward and denied publicly supporting the country’s bid to host the tournament.
“I repeatedly read in some media outlets that I have determined my position on supporting one of the bids to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations,” Yahya wrote yesterday on Facebook.
The executive committee member from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stressed: “I cannot announce any specific position in this regard, as I have not announced it previously and will not announce it later.”
FFRIM’s president expressed his hope for the media to be “honest and professional” when tackling such “sensitive” topics.
In October 2022, CAF announced the opening of the bidding process for the CAN 2025 hosting rights. In addition to Algeria, Morocco was one of the member associations that declared their interest in hosting the continental sporting event and submitted their bids.
Read also: Liberia Expresses ‘Full’ Support for Morocco’s Bid to Host 2025 AFCON
The confederation indicated that its executive committee held inspections between January 5 and 25 to the candidate nations to determine their readiness to host the event. Meanwhile, the committee will appoint the official host country, or countries, on February 10, 2023.
Earlier this month, Liberia’s President George Weah emphasized his country’s “full” and “strong” support for Morocco’s candidacy to host the 2025 AFCON.
“Liberia fully endorses and supports Morocco’s bid to host CAF Nations Cup 2025. I have made this commitment to King Mohamed VI. It is cast in stone,” Weah added.
Morocco, which has not hosted the continental tournament since 1988, is bidding to host the 2025 CAN with six stadiums, which are certified by the CAF.
The stadiums include the Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in the capital Rabat and the Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier, which are set to host the 2023 Club World Cup matches in February.
