CAF Postpones Inspection -The Confederation of African Football (CAF) was to send an inspection team to AFCON 2019 host country Cameroon, to ascertain the country;s readiness and ability to host the tournament.
The Caf-appointed team was scheduled to begin the eight-day inspection on Sunday 20 August.
But information has been rife that the inspection mission to the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations hosts Cameroon has been postponed by the African football governing body.
Read: AFCON Hosts Cameroon: Why CAF President Ahmad Says Country Must Prove Its Readiness
In a statement on the CAF website, the reason for the postponement is based on the withdraw of audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Following the unexpected withdrawal PwC, CAF says the inspection mission will take place at a later date.
Rumours had been rife that CAF postponed the inspections due to a security threat posed on the members of the audit firm selected for the mission.
But The Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) president, Tombi A Roko Sidiki, has addressed the speculation surrounding security levels for visiting inspectors.
Responding to CAF’s notification, he reassured both PWC and Caf members that the Cameroon 2019 organizing committee has taken all necessary measures to ensure their safety during their stay.
Having bidden for 16 teams initially, there was cause for concern among stakeholders regarding Cameroon’s readiness to host the tournament. But Cameroon has maintained they are more than fit to organize the event.
Following a decision taken by the confederation’s executive committee at the recent CAF Symposium in Morocco, the 2019 Nations Cup will feature 24 teams instead of 16.
It will also, be moved from January-February to June-July. CAF added two more groups with some of the top losers from all group progressing to the round of 16 which has been added to the new change.
The team of experts was expected to inspect Cameroon’s readiness to host the 2019 tournament.
Earlier this month, the Caf president, Ahmad Ahmad, said Cameroon needed “to convince Caf” of its ability to host the 2019 Nations Cup which will feature 24 teams instead of 16 for the first time. Caf Ahmad said, will put much weight on the inspection team’s report.
Ahmad explained that efficiency and competence were factors needed by any host country to pull off the daunting task of organizing the prestigious AFCON.
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