Morocco will host the 2018 African Nations Championship
The Confederation of African Football has selected Morocco to replace Kenya as host of the 2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN).
The emergency committee of the African Football Confederation (CAF) met Saturday in Lagos and unanimously decided to give Morocco the green light ahead of Equatorial Guinea.
Original hosts Kenya fell behind with five-venue preparations for the biennial 16-team tournament, which runs from January 12-February 4, leading them to be stripped of the hosting rights last month.
A third candidate, Ethiopia, was not considered because it did not provide a letter of guarantee from its government.
Morocco was scheduled to stage the same event in 2015, but withdrew fearing visiting supporters could bring the deadly Ebola virus into the north African kingdom. Equatorial Guinea successfully replaced Morocco at short notice, having co-hosted the Cup of Nations with Gabon three years earlier.
The African Nations Championship is the continent’s No. 2 national team tournament after the African Cup of Nations. The Africa Nations Championship, also known as CHAN, is contested by teams made up of home-based players only.
Morocco has not hosted a senior CAF competition since the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations. The country will now host the 16 teams from Jan. 12-Feb. 4, an early chance to test its infrastructure after also having bid to host the 2026 World Cup.
Source: FoxSports
