August 13 – After months of conjecture, African football chief Ahmad Ahmad appears to have put an end to speculation that Cameroon could be stripped of hosting rights for the 2019 African Cup of Nations, the latest about-turn in a seemingly never ending saga that needs to be resolved once and for all soon.
CAF sent in an inspection team early this year assess preparations after CAF president Ahmad repeatedly cast doubt over Cameroon’s credentials to stage the expanded tournament which, for the first time, will involve 24 teams.
The inspectors apparently insisted on another visit in the coming months but a CAF official said at the time that hosting was now “not in question”.
Last week CAF appeared to have changed its mind following a damning inspection report with only 10 months left for the central African country to complete preparations.
Ahmad said he would only discuss Cameroon’s fate during September’s CAF extraordinary congress in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El Sheikh, yet at the weekend was quoted as saying there are no plans to bring in a replacement.
“People are talking about what they want but, I tell you CAN is in Cameroon, there is no plan B,” he was reported as saying, only to cast further doubt on the issue.
“There is an inspection visit in Cameroon… we will bring back information on the state of the situation.”
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