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Football

12th Nov 2014

Morocco disqualified from hosting Africa Cup of Nations (with 67 days to go)

Host country's fears of Ebola epidemic have cost them the tournament

Conan Doherty

So, Morocco are being punished for worrying about the Ebola crisis.

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations hosts (or at least they used to be) have had the tournament stripped from them with just over two months to go but, not only that, they have been disqualified from taking part.

Why?  Because they wanted to postpone it because of fears of the Ebola epidemic.

Morocco has been calling since last month to reschedule the Africa Cup of Nations, set to begin on January 17 until February 9, because of health concerns linked to the deadly pandemic but, whilst the CAF (Confederation Africaine de Football) called on them to change their minds about looking for a postponement, Morocco kept its stance.

In response, the CAF announced this after a six-hour meeting yesterday:

“Having firmly and unanimously notified (Morocco) on November 3 its decision to keep the competition on the dates indicated, the Executive Committee confirmed that the Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015 will not take place in Morocco.”

Now they just need to find someone who can host the continent’s most prestigious tournament with just two months to work with.

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