By David Gold
June 16 – Egypt is considering putting itself forward to host the 2013 African Nations Cup due to concerns over Libya’s ability to host the tournament with violence continuing to affect the war-torn country.
The Egyptians have won the last three versions of the tournament, which is next being held jointly by Equatorial Guinea and Gabon in 2012.
They are however struggling to make that tournament after a run of poor results in qualifying, and last week Hassan Shehata stepped down from his post as coach of the national team.
“The idea is being discussed at the association with security in the country restored and the resumption of the domestic competition,” said a member of the Egyptian Football Association board.
But the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have insisted that for now, there are no plans to take the tournament away from Libya despite the violence.
“Of course we are thinking about it as a matter of priority,” said Hicham El-Amrami, the secretary general of CAF.
“All the tournaments that Libya has agreed to host – not only the Africa Cup of Nations but also the CHAN (African Nations Championship) and the Futsal Championship next year are today still [to be] held in Libya.
“The CAF ExecutiveCommittee is thinking about plan bs or plan cs.
“We agreed a timeline [for the] latest moment at which we should decide on switching the tournament to another venue.
“As of today the Nations Cup of 2013 is still in Libya.”
The 2013 tournament will be the first time that the bi-annual competition is scheduled in an odd numbered year, to avoid it clashing with the World Cup or European Championships.
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