CAN 2025: Guinea will not organize it
Supporters of the Sily National of Guinea U20, in November 2019 at the Stade de Nongo.
© Aboubacarkhoraa / Creative Commons
Text by: David Kalfa Follow
3 mins
Guinea will not organize the African Cup of Nations in 2025. The president of the African Football Confederation (CAF) Patrice Motsepe discussed it with the Guinean authorities on September 30, 2022 in Conakry.
A call for applications will be launched for the award of this CAN 2025.
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The 35th African Cup of Nations football (CAN 2025) will not take place in Guinea.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) notified the Guinean authorities of this on September 30, 2022 in Conakry.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe discussed this withdrawal with Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya.
The latter, who came to power in September 2021, had recently made CAN 2025 a “
national priority
”.
But the new Guinean regime could not make up for the delay accumulated over eight years.
“
For CAN 2025, the decision was made not to continue with Guinea because the infrastructure, despite the great effort made by the authorities, is not up to the level for the competition to take place there.
It has been decided to reopen the call for applications for CAN 2025
said Motsepe at a press conference.
Surprise award in 2014
It was in September 2014 that, to everyone's surprise, Guinea was awarded the organization of the CAN... 2023. A call for applications was indeed launched by CAF for the 2019 and 2021 editions, finally given to Cameroon. and to the Ivory Coast.
But not for 2023. Some senior CAF leaders do not hesitate to accuse (in private) the president at the time, Issa Hayatou, of having thus made a "
gift
" out of sympathy for the Guineans. .
The country, it is true, lacks sports infrastructure.
A problem which is accentuated when the new direction of the CAF with at its head the Malagasy Ahmad, elected in 2017, decides to increase the number of teams participating in the tournament from 16 to 24 countries.
It will therefore require more stadiums, training grounds, hotels and other facilities to be built.
Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea nevertheless decided to take up the challenge.
Too difficult for Cameroonians who have to give up CAN 2019 to Egypt, consoling themselves with CAN 2021, Côte d'Ivoire recovering that of 2023 and Guinea 2025.
CAF skeptical
In January 2019, the president of the Senegalese Federation Augustin Senghor proposed to co-organize CAN 2025 with Guinea.
But the Guinean authorities refuse.
It is a matter of national pride.
Guinea wants to do it alone.
In private, members of the CAF Executive Committee sneer.
“
Even in 2027, they will never be close!
»
In January 2022, on the sidelines of the CAN in Cameroon, the Confederation of African Football already mentioned internally, as discreetly as possible, a withdrawal from the organization to the Guineans.
But before any decision, it is necessary to judge on the spot to justify such a choice.
The conclusions of the inspection visits will be relentless.
Guinea had six stadiums to build - not to mention the various related infrastructures (training grounds, hotels, roads, etc.) - in three years.
Motsepe signaled the end of the game.
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