There ’ll be problems at 2015 AFCON – CAF

Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Issa Hayatou has disclosed that the upcoming Africa Cup Nations in Equatorial Guinea will not be devoid of hitches. Two weeks ago, Equatorial Guinea offered to host the 30th edition of Africa’s biggest football showcase after original host

Morocco opted out due to the north African country’s fears of the potential spread of Ebola. The tournament holds from January 17 to February 8 and Hayatou believes that it may not be a perfect one considering the little time the host will have to prepare. “If I say there will be no problems, I would be lying. In two months we can’t bring together everything that is needed without there being some imperfections,” Hayatou told BBC Sport. The CAF president highlighted some of the areas where there are likely to be challenges in Equatorial Guinea. Some of these, according to Hayatou, are in “catering, accommodation, internal transport, international transport and media.” He however added that the confederation will do the needful. “We’ll do everything so we can save the essentials,” Hayatou said. Equatorial Guinea is a small Central African country of about 740,000 people which may find logistics of the 2015 tournament a handful. When the country co-hosted the 2012 edition with Gabon, only two cities, Bata and the capital Malabo, hosted some of the matches. Two other cities – Mongomo and Ebebiyin – will host some of the matches in the 2015 tournament and it is being feared that facilities in these cities will be stretched.

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