EUROPEAN teams will breathe a sigh of relief as the 2019 African Cup of Nations has been moved to June and July.
Not only will the competition be played in the summer as opposed to in January and February, but there will also be an expansion of the number of countries.
Cameroon – the current champions, will host the tournament in 2019, and there will be 24 countries contesting compared to the usual 16 which has been in use since 1996.
After a meeting held in the Moroccan capital Rabat, the Confederation of African Football confirmed the new proposal.
One thing that won’t be changing is how frequent it will be held – they have decided it will remain every two years, rather than every four years, a model used by UEFA for the European Championships.
The news will come as a delight to clubs around Europe, who now don’t have to lose their players in the hectic start to a calendar year.
However, one nation that won’t be too keen are Cameroon.
They will now have to accommodate an additional eight countries, with their sports minister already being forced to deny that they are running behind schedule in hosting the event.
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Ismael Bidoung recently said: “Despite security concerns, social and economic crises, the government and President Paul Biya are totally engaged to do everything for the Nations Cup to go ahead.
“Of the 32 stadia required for the 2019 Nations Cup, the 11 that served for the 2016 Women Africa Cup of Nations are ready and functional.
“For the 21 other stadia, 14 are under rehabilitation and 7 are still to be constructed.”
An inspection team from CAF will be sent to Cameroon in September to check on their progress.
The Indomitable Lions beat Egypt 2-1 in the final, with Porto striker Vincent Aboubakar scoring a dramatic 88th minute winner.
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