The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has dismissed insinuations coming from the President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, stating that Nigeria will co-host the Africa Cup of Nations
with the Benin Republic.
NFF President, Pinnick, announced on Tuesday that he had informed CAF Executives via a room meeting of Nigeria’s interest to co-host alongside Benin, with several media reports suggesting that the event could be moved from troubled Guinea.
But a top CAF official who was quoted by the BBC source says neither his organization nor Guinean football officials have discussed such events.
“The host for the 2025 tournament remains Guinea and that has not changed,” BBC Sport Africa quoted the CAF official.
“We’ve not discussed anything about a replacement or received any communication from Guinea about the inability to host. At this very moment, everything is on track for Guinea to host and there is no reason to suggest otherwise.”
The political situation in Guinea, since last year when a military coup struck, has been a matter of major concern, with fears over security and organization for the 2025 AFCON.
Guinea accepted to host the AFCON 2025 in January 2019, after CAF reviewed its host for 2019, 2021, and 2023 editions, but the covid-19 pandemic and weather conditions have compelled CAF to change arrangements in recent years.
Recall that the 2021 finals in Cameroon were delayed by six months until January to February this year, and it went ahead despite the emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 before CAF announced
again this month that the 2023 tournament in Ivory Coast will now be played in early 2024 to avoid the rainy season.
Since the last development, CAF has not reviewed its stand, and neither has Guinea shown that it can no longer host the event, but the whole situation still remains under careful study.
However, how can Nigeria be thinking of hosting such a continental showpiece which would attract tourists at this point, when the current situation in Nigeria is nothing to write home about with several
reports of killings, kidnapping, and high rates of crime being reported on a daily basis.
More so, the pregnant 2023 election is still lingering with several political analysts suggesting that uncertainty is looming in Nigeria as the transition to a new government after the 8-year reign of President
Buhari becomes inevitable.
