APA-Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) Ivorian Vice-President Tiemoko Meylet Kone, and Prime Minister Robert Beugre Mambe made a tour in Yamoussoukro and Bouake (center) of several infrastructures related to the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament (AfCON 2023) which takes place in Côte d’Ivoire from January 13 to February 11, 2024.
Remain vigilant and leave no stone unturned.
That’s what Prime Minister Robert Beugre Mambe, Minister of Sports and the Living Environment, recommended at the end of the first stage of this series of tours in Yamoussoukro’s Charles Konan Banny Stadium.
Charles Konan Banny Stadium
Named after the late Governor of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), the stadium will host Group C matches, featuring teams from Senegal, Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia.
“These infrastructures have a huge economic impact. When we look to the future, it should enable Côte d’Ivoire to be firmly anchored in sporting and cultural competitions,” Robert Beugre Mambe said.
The head of the Ivorian government revealed that the stadium was ready both technically and in terms of equipment, but asked that on-call teams be put in place to keep an eye on all sectors.
According to Prime Minister Robert Mambe, Côte d’Ivoire must be able to meet all expectations, whatever the circumstances.
He concluded that what they witnessed during the tour has been reassuring.
After visiting the stadium, the Prime Minister toured the Hôtel Parlementaire in Yamoussoukro before joining Vice-President Tiemoko Meyliet Koné’s delegation for a tour of the Hôtel President in the city. These are two of the main hotels that will be accommodating the participants in Africa’s premier football extravaganza.
In Bouake, the metropolis in central Côte d’Ivoire, other hotel infrastructures were also visited by the two personalities. This was the case, in particular, of the ‘Cité AfCON’, a city of 32 luxury villas, each with 5 rooms, designed to accommodate Group D teams.
Group D includes Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Angola. Fully completed, they are, for the Vice-President, a source of pride and a sign of President Alassane Ouattara’s commitment to providing the best possible facilities for the tournament.
“President of the Republic Alassane Ouattara attaches great importance to the comfort and conviviality that must characterize the AfCON. All those who come to see us must be at ease and know that Côte d’Ivoire is a welcoming country…I can tell you that everything has been done to ensure the best possible conditions for everyone,” the Vice-President declared.
The purpose of the visit was not only to assess the quality of the work, but also to ensure that all requirements had been taken into account. At the Hôtel du Stade and Ranhôtel, the Prime Minister made a number of observations to the various service providers.
“Bouake needed to be supported by hotel infrastructures that would restore the recognised vitality of the country’s second largest city. We have just completed a visit to this hotel, which offers reassuring prospects,” the PM said at the end of his visit to Ranhôtel.
Robert Beugre Mambe also expressed satisfaction with the quality of the work carried out at Bouake’s ‘Stade de la Paix’:
“The Bouake Stadium is magnificent. We’ve looked at certain details and given indications, and we think that the team on site is very dynamic, and we know that nothing will escape us before the start of the AfCON. I’m going home very satisfied,” he concluded.
The revamped ‘Stade de la Paix’ in Bouake is equipped with an ultra-modern pitch, an infirmary, a changing room, a warm-up room and a press centre.
After the 60,000-seater Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Ebimpe, the Bouake Stadium is the second largest in the country.
Built on a 30-hectare site, its capacity has been increased from 25,000 to 40,000 seats.
AP/fss/as/APA