By Mark Baber
November 14 – Equatorial Guinea has stepped in to save the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, following a meeting between Issa Hayatou, President of the African Football Confederation (CAF) and Equatorial Guinea’s President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
The news comes after Morocco was stripped of the right to host the tournament and disqualified from the competition earlier this week. Morocco had requested a postponement of the tournament in light of the Ebola crisis and fears of the disease spreading into the country via travelling fans,
Other countries which had been mooted as possible hosts had excluded themselves from the running one after the other over the past few days despite the countries with the vast majority of Ebola victims (Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia) having failed to qualify for the final tournament.
The draw for the final phase of the tournament will be held on December 3 and Equatorial Guinea, who had been disqualified from the tournament for fielding an ineligible player, will be in the draw having had its disqualification annulled.
The matches will be played in the stadiums Bata, Mongomo, Ebebiyin and in the home of the Equatorial Guinea Cup holders – the ‘Leones Vegetarianos’ (Vegetarian Lions) in Malabo.
Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the tournament with Gabon in 2012 and thanks to its oil riches the country enjoys the highest per capita income in sub-Saharan Africa, even though more than half the population do not have access to clean water.
Issa Hayatou said in a statement: “The head of state of Equatorial Guinea agreed to host the competition.
“As a result, the CAF executive committee confirms that the tournament will go ahead and Equatorial Guinea will compete as the host nation.
“CAF wishes to express its sincere thanks to the Equatorial Guinean people, its government and particularly president Obiang.”
The government of Equatorial Guinea has a very tight rein over the country’s media, such that the inhabitants were not informed about the ‘Arab Spring’.
Any public unease over hosting the tournament is unlikely to be aired publicly.
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