Ghana fails to submit bid to host 2015 AFCON after Morocco withdrawal

Ghana failed to submit a bid to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations by Saturday’s deadline given by CAF after Morocco confirmed it is not ready to host the tournament in January.

Ghana was one of the alternatives for CAF to stand-in as hosts for next year’s event if Morocco fails to assume its original responsibility and CAF gave the deadline of Saturday for interested countries to bid.

Initially, Ghana’s sports minister Mahama Ayariga was keen on hosting the tournament which is just two months away.

But the public backlash against the hosting of the competition with fears of Ebola hitting the country seems to have forced the government to make a U-turn with no official bid submitted by Saturday’s deadline.

Ghana FA President Kwesi Nyantakyi, who also serves on the CAF Executive Committee, says the nation is not in the running to stand in as hosts for the 2015 AFCON.

“Ghana has not put together a bid to host AFCON 2015, so Ghana is not in reckoning at all to host the competition,” Nyantakyi told a press conference on Friday.

The Ghanaian populace is sharply divided on whether it will be prudent to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations as against other competing priorities especially with the outbreak of the Ebola virus.

Moroccan officials on Saturday rejected an ultimatum from the Confederation of African Football meaning that the African Cup of Nations will need to find a new host.

Fears over the Ebola virus forced Morocco to demand the competition’s postponement, but CAF was adamant that Africa’s showpiece event would go ahead as planned.

The 16-team competition, due to be played from January 17th to February 8th, must now find a new host as quickly as possible or risk cancelling the event at enormous financial cost.

Ghana has put in its bid to host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.