The Sunday Mail
Makomborero Mutimukulu – Acting Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S bid to co-host the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations suffered a setback yesterday as Zambia ruled out the possibility of a partnership, despite them failing to win the right to host the 2019 edition of the biennial tournament.
The Confederations of African Football president Issa Hayatou announced that Cameroon will host the 2019 Afcon tournament, with Ivory Coast having the pleasure in the 2021 tournament and Guinea getting the honours in 2023.
Zimbabwe had been hoping to forge an alliance with Zambia as it bids to host the 2017 showcase following the last minute withdrawal of Libya.
A Zimbabwean delegation was in Lusaka a fortnight ago where it tabled the co-hosting proposal and returned home with a fair level of optimism.
However, it emerged yesterday —hours before Caf announced that Cameroon will be hosting the 2019 edition — that our brothers in Lusaka are not interested in getting into bed with us.
Football Association of Zambia vice president Boniface Mwamelo, in an interview with the Post of Zambia, described the idea of his country co-hosting the 2017 tourney as “totally out of the question.”
“It is totally out of the question. Even representatives of Botswana FA approached us on the possibility of 2017 co-hosting.
“It’s something we can’t even contemplate because in 2017 we are hosting the Africa Youth Championships and that requires resources,” Mwamelo was quoted as saying.
The dosage of bad news from Lusaka has left the country mulling a possible alliance with another regional country.
Speaking at the official announcement of the country’s 2017 hopes, Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Andrew Langa explained that Zimbabwe’s best chance of winning the bid was to propose co-hosting.
“Zimbabwe would have preferred to go it alone, but we find ourselves hamstrung by the Confederation of African Football (Caf)’s Article 32 of the Statutes governing the application which requires that:
‘Any member association proposing its country for the organisation of the African Cup of Nations must have organised the final tournament of at least one of the following competitions:
“The African Nations Championships (Chan); the Under-20 African Championships, the Under-17 African Championships; the African Women Football Champion ships; and the Under-23 African Championships,’” he said.
While Zimbabwe ponders on the next move, Ghana is kicking on after expressing interest in hosting the event.
The West African county last week appointed an 11-member committee tasked with charming Caf into giving the country a third chance to host the showcase.
The committee includes six former Black Stars players and a former world boxing champion as its ambassadors.
The Ghanaian committee members include chairman Ernest Thompson, his deputy Abedi Ayew Pele, Fred Crentsil, Randy Abbey, Herbert Mensah Nyaho Nyaho Tamakloe, Lepowura Nuru Deen Jawula and Nana Sam Brew Butler.
Ghana National Petroleum boss Alex Mould, Rex Danquah and Abdulai Yakubu complete the committee, whose envoys are former Black Stars players Stephen Leroy Appiah, Tony Yeboah, Tony Baffoe, Ibrahim Sunday, Abdul Razak as well as former WBC Featherweight champion Azumah Nelson.
“The committee and ambassadors shall commence work immediately and stand dissolved after the Confederation of African Football pronounces on the hosting rights of the Afcon 2017 in January 2015,” the Ghanaian sports ministry said in a statement.
Ghana’s ace move puts into context the bruising battle that awaits Zimbabwe as it pursues its dream of hosting a maiden Afcon tournament.
It also highlights the speed at which the Afcon charge has to move.
The announcement of a bidding committee has suddenly become a matter much bigger than both life and death.
With international sporting icons such as golfer Nick Price, swimmer Kirsty Coventry, Warriors legend Peter Ndlovu and Sparta Prague defender Costa Nhamoinesu, to mention but four, Zimbabwe should be able to come up a team that will make Caf take notice.
Apart from Ghana, countries such as Algeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are also reported to be mulling their own bids.
