Patrice Motsepe, the boss of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), on Monday, April 4, paid a visit to Cote d’Ivoire, the host of the next African Cup of Nations (AfCON).
Two months after closing the curtains on the 33rd edition of the AfCON 2021 in Cameroon, the president of the governing body of African football is looking to the future. Upon arrival on Monday in Abidjan, Mr. Motsepe said he was “reassured” by the state of progress of infrastructure for the next AfCON to be held from June 23 to July 23, 2023 in the country of football star Didier Drogba.
While six stadiums are under construction or renovation for this competition, Mr. Motsepe said, after a meeting with Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, that “there are still some problems to be solved.”
“We are confident that the AfCON that you will organize here will be the best. We are reassured by the various facilities that you have put in place to host this competition,” he indicated, adding : “I am satisfied with the progress made, even if there are still some problems to solve,” he insisted.
Work on three stadiums is almost complete. These are Ebimpe in the suburbs of Abidjan (60,000 seats), Bouake (center) which has been renovated to 40,000 seats and Yamoussoukro (center, 20,000 seats).
In addition, the stadiums in San Pedro (southwest, 20,000 seats) and Korhogo (north, 20,000 seats) are more than 50 percent complete, according to the National Sports Office, which oversees sports infrastructure. Renovation of the historic Felix-Houphouet-Boigny stadium (33,000 seats) in the heart of Abidjan is taking longer and currently only 25 percent of the works is completed.
The problems of the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) on the menu
The last edition of the AfCON, whose final was played on February 6 in Yaounde, was won by Senegal, for the first time in its history, after a penalty shootout (4-2) against Egypt.
In addition, the AfCON president took advantage of his visit to call for unity among Ivorian football players after the turmoil within the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF).
The election of its president, slated for April, has been repeatedly cancelled. Former Ivorian international Didier Drogba is one of the candidates but does not enjoy strong support among Ivorian clubs.
The federation was placed under supervision in December 2020 by FIFA, which installed a “Normalization Committee” to try to sort out the crisis.
“I have to meet the stakeholders of the elections. There will be no losers. Soccer in this country deserves unity, » Patrice Motsepe concluded.
ODL/cgd/fss/abj/APA