Equatorial Guinea saves the Afcon

9 years ago

Equatorial Guinea saves the Afcon

In the most spectacular of saves, Equatorial Guinea have swooped in to spare CAF’s embarrassment. The tiny coastal nation will host the 2015 Afcon on the shortest of notices, just three years after the continent rocked up on its shores in a co-hosting effort with neighbours Gabon.

The overriding emotion is one of relief. Ivorian captain Yaya Toure was right, uncertainty over the tournament can weigh on the players’ focus. Look for example at Morocco’s friendly against Benin; initially scheduled in preparation for next year’s tournament, it was rendered academic by CAF’s decision to strip the North African nation of the hosting rights.

To their credit though, the erstwhile hosts were professional in a 6-1 demolition.
CAF deserve credit for their quick thinking in dealing with Morocco’s decision to hold off on hosting the tournament in light of public health concerns. Hayatou flew into Equatorial Guinea only on Friday morning to meet with President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, and an agreement was quickly struck.
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Capital Malabo and largest city Bata will play host to matches, as in 2012. Also pegged as host cities are Mongomo and Ebebiyin, the latter can only hold 5000 people though, hardly the Maracana. That said, beggars cannot be choosers. What about the spectacle, the atmosphere, you say? Fie!
That CAF has been forced into this position speaks of the paranoia that has swept the continent since the outbreak of Ebola earlier this year. Morocco are understandably wary of endangering their own population, and cannot be faulted for prioritising human life.
However, throwing the baby out with the bathwater is a tad extreme, especially considering Morocco have been hosting Afcon hopefuls Guinea during the qualifying series as a direct consequence of Ebola.
Equatorial Guinea appear to have no such concerns. Indeed, the common refrain among observers since the announcement has been the prohibitive cost of attending the 2012 tournament and their trepidation over returning. This is an inconvenience, but might it also serve as the sort of crowd control Morocco could only have dreamed of?
Speaking of crowd control, the tiny nation of just over 600,000 might find itself tainted by associative nomenclature. A fair few on social media, even within the African continent, have been unable to distinguish between it and west African nation Guinea, who are grappling to curtail the spread of the deadly virus.