By Andrew Warshaw
September 3 – Ivory Coast will host their Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone this coming weekend after the government relented and allowed the game to go ahead despite fears over the deadly Ebola virus.
The country reportedly had been warned by the Confederation of African Football they could be thrown out of the finals in Morocco in January if they refused to go ahead with the fixture even though Sierra Leone is one of the countries worst hit by the disease that has killed more than 1,500 people this year.
The Ivory Coast Football Federation said that most of its players, including Yaya Toure of Manchester City, Salomon Kalou of Hertha Berlin and Gervinho of AS Roma had already arrived in Abidjan to prepare for the game.
The government had repeatedly refused to allow the qualifier to be held in Abidjan but a new statement said: “The National Security Council authorises the holding of the Ivory Coast against Sierra Leone match.”
It added that the decision was taken only after the Sierra Leone federation had given a guarantee that no member of its delegation had been in any country affected by the virus during the 21 days immediately preceding the upcoming match. Guinea and Liberia have been the others most severely affected among six countries in total.
To minimise the risk of spreading the virus, Sierra Leone have named a squad of players based outside the country and given assurances that the coaching staff would be screened before travelling.
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