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Safa jump to conclusions on 2013 African Cup of Nations

Safa jump to conclusions on 2013 African Cup of Nations

For reasons we needn’t repeat here, the Confederation of African Football is worried about staging the Africa Cup of Nations in Libya in two years. The South African Football Association went ahead and agreed to swap hosting dates with Libya. Well, CAF aren’t too happy about that. Apparently the two countries need their okay before they can announce such things. By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

Libya was supposed to host the Cup of Nations in 2013. That’s going to be a bit hard to do, and Safa stepped up and offered to let Libya host it in 2017 (when we were supposed to do it), if they let us have it in 2013. You know, looking out for your neighbour and all that.

On Friday, CAF said that they were unhappy with South Africa for announcing this last week. The continent’s governing football body is due to meet in Cairo in September where this deal will be discussed and decided upon.

“We are disappointed that the South African Football Association has chosen to make public these discussions and plans before the matter is discussed by our executive committee,” CAF general secretary Hicham El Amrani said.

Safa itself announced that it had postponed its September annual general meeting and special general meeting so that its executive members could go to Cairo to ensure their bid.

While CAF may have a point about proper protocol, we don’t see any other countries stepping up to help Libya out. It’s not like CAF is going to say no, either. So there’s no reason why Safa should have felt like it needed to wait for permission to announce that the 2013 edition of the Cup of Nations will be held in South Africa. DM



Read more:

  • CAF disappointed by premature South Africa-Libya Africa Cup of Nations in goal.com.
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