The continental soccer mother body took away the right to host the biggest soccer tournament in Africa giving it to Nigeria and Ghana citing ill-preparedness on the part of Zimbabwe and a lack of government guarantee. The two countries went on to co-host the tournament. Zimbabwe put in another bid to host the 2004 finals but lost to Tunisia. ZIFA chairman Wellington Nyatanga confirmed to The Zimbabwean that Zimbabwe had submitted its bid for 2014.”We have submitted another bid to host the tournament in 2014. It is our hope this time we will win the right but we need to work hard in our preparations. There is need for all stake holders to unite and be aggressive,” said Nyatanga.
The African Cup of Nations hosts are announced four years in advance in order to give countries time to upgrade their facilities. A 13-member CAF executive committee will review all the bids before an announcement is made at the CAF Congress which will precede the 2010 Nations Cup finals in Angola in January next year. Nyatanga said inspection visits will be carried out in countries that have expressed their interest in order to find out their readiness to host the tournament before the CAF congress. Neighbours Botswana,Lybia, joint bidders Benin and the Central African Republic and Morocco are also bidding to host the tournament.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) requires four venues from four different cities and ZIFA have submitted Rufaro in Harare, Barbourfields in Bulawayo, Mucheke in Masvingo, and Ascot Stadium in Gweru with the National Sports Stadium reserved for the opening ceremony and the final.
Post published in: Football