The Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Ahmad Ahmad has confirmed that Guinea will host the 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) and not the 2023 edition.
On a visit to Ghana on Sunday 6 January, where he was joined by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, two days before the 2019 showpiece was handed to Egypt, Ahmad said Guinea’s President Alpha Condé had agreed to a delay in hosting the tournament.
According to the BBC, Ahmad told reporters it is a similar situation to Cameroon, who will stage the 2021 finals after being stripped of hosting the 2019 Nations Cup in November.
The news comes days after Guinea Football Federation (Feguifoot) president Antonio Souare said they hadn’t been “notified, neither by a letter or a decree” about the proposed delay in hosting.
In 2014, CAF awarded Nations Cup hosting rights to Cameroon (2019), Ivory Coast (2021) and Guinea (2023). After the reported changes to the schedule, Ivory Coast – which is now set to host in 2023 – lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the CAF decision to hand the 2021 tournament to Cameroon.
There has been recommendation too that since the continental showpiece has been expanded, it was wise for countries to co-host the showpiece as the requirements to host a bigger number of countries could prove hectic for one nation.
The Nations Cup has been co-hosted twice before, by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in 2012 and by Ghana and Nigeria in 2000.