Senegalese Football Federation Chief suggests joint hosts for of 24-team AFCON

07 Juin 2020

Dakar, Senegal, June 7 (Infosplusgabon) - Mr. Augustin Senghor, President of the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF), has suggested the introduction of joint hosts for Nations Cup competitions featuring 24 teams.

Senghor said the Confederation of African Football (CAF) should introduce this programme following the inability of some countries to go it alone.

The focus should be a Nations' cup co-hosted by neighbouring countries.

He expressed this idea during a virtual meeting with journalists on the platform of the National Association of Sports Press of Senegal.

According to him, only two or three African countries currently have the capacity and necessary infrastructures to host this competition, which has grown to 24 teams since the last edition in 2019 in Egypt.

Referring to the specific case of neighboring Guinea to which the organization of the AFCON 2025 has been entrusted, Mr. Senghor, a member of the Executive Committee of CAF, considered that it is up to this country and this country alone "to say whether or not it is ready or not to co-organize".

In the event that its neighbor to the south, which had applied for an 18-team AFCON, accepts this possibility, it would be excellent news and a great opportunity for Senegal to renew its ties with an AFCON at home, after the only experience of 1992.

He said for Senegal, this would mean a vast program of construction, rehabilitation, refurbishment, and modernization of five or six stadiums in this West African country.

He said "an Africa Cup of Nations with two neighboring countries as co-hosts will be a great celebration and both could benefit from good infrastructures to develop their football at a national level after the final phase of the Africa Cup of Nations".

According to him, if the United States, Canada, and Mexico have joined forces to organize the 2026 World Cup, why shouldn't two African countries join forces to host the AFCON? Especially since it will be less burdensome for each of them.

"We recall that a few months ago, the Guinean Minister of Sports had rejected the idea of co-hosting the AFCON 2025.

But since then, other important voices in Guinea have been leaning to the contrary.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/HOP/GABON2020

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