The 2015 African Cup of Nations soccer tournament is in doubt following the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is facing a logistical nightmare as various countries refuse to accept teams from affected nations, forcing games to be relocated.
The Associated Press reports that two weeks ago, the Seychelles refused to allow the Sierra Leone national team into their country, forcing them to forfeit the game and thus fail to qualify for the Cup of Nations tournament.
Seychelles health commissioner Dr Jude Gedeon insisted that small island nation would not let its guard down over the virus, leaving the CAF powerless to intervene.
Sierra Leone has now stopped all football matches in the country, as has Liberia, despite both nations being some of continent’s keenest sports fans. Meanwhile, Togo has said its team will not travel to Guinea – another badly affected country – forcing the CAF to relocate the match.
If other nations follow Seychelles and Togo, a total of 18 further matches could be affect, putting the entire tournament into doubt. The matches will decide which 16 teams go through to the official tournament, which will take place in Morocco in January and February next year.
The CAF told the Associated Press: “We continue to monitor the situation of the Ebola outbreak,” confirming that Sierra Leone, where 300 people have died from the virus, cannot host any matches.
However, Guinea still wants to host matches and has even refused to declare a state of emergency, despite being the possible source of the Ebola outbreak.
Other nations do not want to travel to Guinea, though, with the Togo Football Federation saying: “We are scared by the situation prevailing in that zone.”
The CAF has promised it will announce next week how it plans to keep the tournament going, with some games likely to be moved or even cancelled.
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