2023-09-27 23:14:30
At the end of the meeting of its Executive Committee held this Wednesday, September 27 in Cairo, and especially after the surprising withdrawal of Algeria and all the candidate countries, except Morocco, the Confederation of African Football decided to award the organization of CAN 2025 in the Cherifian kingdom. That of 2027 will be organized by three East African countries, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This is the first time that the CAN will return to East Africa since 1976.
This is the end of a suspense if not a long wait for African football followers and the candidate countries for the organization of the 2025 and 2027 African Cups. CAF has decided and, faithful to its habit for some years, it entrusted the organization of two CANs to several countries at the same time.
Withdrawn from Guinea in September 2022, the organization of CAN 2025 was therefore awarded to Morocco after a year of procrastination, (false) suspense, inspections and behind-the-scenes lobbying of the candidate countries with the Cherifian kingdom. Finally, a few hours before the vote of the members of the Comex, Algeria withdrew its candidacy before Zambia, and the Nigeria-Benin duo, “shifted” their candidacy to 2027 instead of 2025, leaving the royal road to Morocco , the only candidate to open the debates.
We must undoubtedly see in this attribution to Morocco the real influence of the president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) Fouzi Lekjaa, also 4th vice-president of CAF, but above all a certain logic. Morocco is already ready, it is currently the first African nation in the FIFA rankings, fourth at the last World Cup and candidate for the organization of the 2030 Cup with Spain and Portugal. 2025 is in 15 months, and the country has just organized African competitions “without problems”: the women’s CAN and U23.
The surprise from the East
For 2027, several candidates competed for the honor of being the host country: Senegal, Botswana, the Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania trio before Zambia and the Nigeria-Benin duo joined them on the eve of the meeting. of the CAF. We thought that the Nigeria-Benin duo had been hollow in deciding to change gear on the eve of the Comex, withdrawing their candidacy for 2025 and positioning themselves for 2027. But the members of the Comex surprised everyone by voting for the candidacy which undoubtedly had the lowest rating in the predictions. The Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania trio seemed to come from afar, but undoubtedly benefited from CAF’s desire to establish a rotation system in the African regions. “Each zone must be able to host the CAN. We want to emphasize rotation,” said Patrice Motsepe a few minutes before announcing the lucky winners. East Africa will therefore host the African Cup of Nations, 51 years after the last one which took place in 1976 in Ethiopia.
With RFI
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