By James Robert Kayindi
The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) hasn’t yet turned into a hot potato as many expected even when we are just two days away from it’s kickoff. The biennial tournament is set to be played in Equatorial Guinea with the hosts taking on Congo at the Estadio de Bata this Saturday (17th, January).
First and foremost, the initial hosts Morocco throwing in the towel over the hosting to the tourney with barely three months to the tournament was a major blow to CAF as the chief organizers and managers of the event. It should be noted that Morocco gave up on hosting the tournament on health grounds following the lethal Ebola virus break out on the African continent.
The Ebola virus that greatly hit the Western parts of Africa since March 2014 left over 4,000people dead hence becoming a major threat to the event and creating divided attention from the sports and political organizers of the tournament.
To add insult to injury other potential hosts like South Africa, Ghana and Egypt also refused to host the event when CAF contacted them.
Secondly, the now hosts of the tournament had been suspended for using an incompetent player during the qualifiers but the suspension was lifted after the country pledged to host the tournament when no one else would. However much CAF did what’s necessary to see that the tournament goes on as planned, many questioned its decision on matters of Equatorial Guinea.
And lastly maybe is the fact that the tournament is missing big teams like Nigeria the defending champions of the trophy and notably the 7time winners of the competition Egypt who all failed to qualify. Nonetheless, the big question is, Who will win it? Algeria are favorites.
Email Robert: Robert.k.circles@gmail.com