Sports
CAF passes resolution for 24-team AFCON to begin in 2019
The Confederation of African Football have adopted the resolution to increase the participating teams at the Africa Cup of Nations from 16 to 24 starting from 2019.
The expansion of the competition was decided by the Executive Committee of the continent’s foremost football body at a meeting on Thursday in Rabat, Morocco, following a two-day symposium.
This means that about 43% of the CAF member nations will compete in the elite tournament, and perhaps it’d mean handing a lifeline for a country like Nigeria.
The President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, had told a gathering prior to the decision on Wednesday of the reasons why the football body were considering the expansion.
Read Also: Why we’re proposing 24–team AFCON – Pinnick
“This proposal is hinged on sporting, commercial and infrastructural reasons, and we believe that sooner than later, everyone would come to appreciate the position of the proponents of a bigger Africa Cup of Nations,” Pinnick said.
“If we have a bigger AFCON, there will definitely be more talented players coming onto the stage, and we could just discover that the next ‘Weah’ would come from either Djibouti or Botswana.
“For commercial reason, more corporate organizations and stakeholders will be involved and it is certainly a bigger cake for everyone. CAF will be richer and the Member Associations will surely benefit.”
The 2019 edition of the tournament is slated to hold in Cameroon, though recently, there’ve been concerns that the Central African giants are behind schedule in terms of hosting infrastructures.
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