Johannesburg: The Confederation of African Football(CAF) has confirmed that the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) would go ahead as planned despite calls for postponement of the tournament because of the Ebola epidemic.
Morocco have got until November 8 to decide whether to host the AFCON after a meeting on Monday with the CAF to discuss a postponement of the tournament because of the Ebola epidemic.
Morocco have called for the January 17-February 8 event to be pushed back because of fears that an influx of several hundred thousand supporters could spread the virus which has killed more than thousands in West Africa..
However, CAF media director Junior Binyam said after meeting with Moroccan officials that there would be no postponement. He said that CAF confirms the dates of the tournament, adding that a second meeting was slated for November 11 in CAF’s Cairo headquarters to take the necessary decisions.
Moroccan football federation spokesman Mohamed Makrouf said that they now have until Saturday to officially respond to CAF. He added that the options are: Morocco hosting the tournament as planned, holding the tournament in another country.
Binyam insisted that any change of dates would be to the detriment of the CAF calendar, which must follow FIFA’s international calendar. He also said that the health system set up by Morocco to prevent the spread of Ebola was more than able to cope with the limited flow of supporters during the tournament.