CAF president Ahmad Ahmad opened up to questions about the 2021 African Cup of Nations which he says Cameroon must host
The date of the competition may be changed.
The president of the African Football Confederation (Caf) spoke yesterday, December 23, 2019 about the African Cup of Nations (Afcon),
which Cameroon must host in 2021. Answering a question from our colleague Footballdanslemonde, Madagascan Ahmad Ahmad said an
announcement may well be made about the dates during which the continental competition is to be held. There may as well be a move of
the 2021 Afcon either in January 2021 or in February of the same year raised.
The change that could be made will be beneficial for the national teams to take part in this Afcon. Since the restructuring of FIFA Club
World Cup would start on June 17 and end on July 4, five days before the scheduled start of continental competition.
“When we made the decision to move the African Cup of Nations in June, which we did for the last tournament in Egypt, we always said
that we need to have some flexibility on the dates… because of the different climatic conditions of the continent. I don’t know why the
media forgot that this was discussed in detail at the 2017 AFCON symposium we had in Morocco, ” said Ahmad.
“In my opinion, it is not possible, due to the climatic conditions in Cameroon, to organize the African Cup of Nations in June / July. To be
clear, so we have to make a decision on the date, “said Ahmad.
Change of host
On 30 November 2018, CAF stripped Cameroon from hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. However, CAF President Ahmad Ahmad told
Cameroon accepted to host the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Consequently, Ivory Coast, original hosts of 2021, would host the 2023 Africa
Cup of Nations, and Guinea, original hosts of 2023, would host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
On 30 January 2019, CAF President confirmed the timetable shift, after a meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara in Abidjan,
Ivory Coast.
