CAF may have decided a date for the 2018 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations and still considers Ghana as hosts, but the governing body is holding its caution flag as doubts still exists.
On Saturday, CAF published the decisions reached at a two-day meeting of its Executive Committee, bothering on the progress reports for several competitions scheduled between 2018 – 2021.
Ghana had been slow to getting facilities for the AWCON ready; failing to meet several deadlines and coupled with the Ghana FA crisis after a sting investigation incriminated erstwhile President, Kwesi Nyantakyi – a former Vice President of CAF.
Apparently, CAF is keeping faith with the GFA, but have also instituted a control measure to keep close supervision on the progress made henceforth.
The decisions reached by the CAF Executive Committee on the AWCON, Ghana 2018 and other Competitions include:
i. Final tournament: 17 November – 1 December 2018
ii. Qualified teams : Algeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia and Ghana
iii. The CAF Secretariat will closely monitor the progress of preparations.
The schedule of other upcoming CAF competitions has been validated as follows
a. Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2021
A report of the inspection visit last July showed the progress of works. Of the six stadiums required for the competition, four are to be built and two are undergoing major renovations. For accommodation, three out of five cities do not have the required infrastructure.
b. African Nations Championship, Ethiopia 2020
i. Following the initial inspection in April 2018, the CAF delegation recommended stadiums inspection mission at the end of October 2018 to ensure that the prerequisites are met.
ii. The dates of the final tournament will be discussed with the Ethiopian authorities due of meetings of the African Union scheduled at the same time.
c. U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt 2019
Final tournament date: 8 – 22 November 2019
d. U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, Niger 2019
The President of Niger has confirmed his commitment towards the preparations for the competition, during a meeting with CAF President Ahmad Ahmad last September.
i. Final tournament date : 2 – 17 February 2019
ii. Qualified teams : Burkina Faso, Burundi, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Niger.
e. U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Tanzania 2019
On behalf of the Tanzanian Government, the Prime Minister reaffirmed to CAF President Ahmad Ahmad their willingness to host the tournament and pledged efforts towards a successful event.
i. Final tournament date : 14 – 28 April 2019
ii. Qualified teams: Angola, Cameroon, Guinea, Morocco, Nigeria, Uganda, Senegal and Tanzania
iii. Final Draw: 20 December 2018 in Tanzania
iv. During the zonal qualifiers, UEFA was involved financially and technically. UEFA technicians were present at all the competitions and worked hand-in-hand with their CAF counterparts. The aim of zonal qualifications is long-term development.
v. The MRI tests conducted during the zonal tournaments gave the tournament more credibility.
g. Beach Soccer Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt 2018
i. Final tournament : 8 – 14 December 2018
ii. Qualified teams: Cote d’Ivoire, Libya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania and Egypt
