Egypt wins rights to host 2019 African Cup of Nations

Mahmoud Kahraba of Egypt in action against Charles Kabore (L) of Burkina Faso during the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final football match between Burkina Faso and Egypt at the Stade de l’Amitie Sino-Gabonaise in Libreville on February 1, 2017 [Fared Kotb/Anadolu Agency]

During a meeting by the CAF’s executive committee in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, Egypt’s candidacy was approved by a vote of 16 to one, with only one vote going to sole rival South Africa and a remaining voting country abstained.

South African bid had failed to get off the ground because of “inadequate financial commitments.”

The tournament was supposed to be hosted by Cameroon, but on 30 November the West African country was stripped of the hosting rights due to the fact that it was lagging behind in its preparations and that two of the host cities were located near to a violence-stricken area.

Following the decision, this will be the fifth time for Egypt to host AFCON. It had hosted four editions of the cup in 1959, 1974, 1986 and 2006.

In July 2017, CAF announced that the tournament for the very first time would witness the participation of 24 teams instead of 16. The 2019 AFCON is scheduled from 15 June to 13 July.

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