Morocco refuses to host African Nations Cup due to Ebola

USPA News - Morocco has reiterated its demand for the 2015 African Nations Cup finals to be postponed by at least a year due to the continent`s Ebola outbreak, putting Africa`s football championship in jeopardy after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) urged Morocco to communicate its final decision by Saturday. "In response to the letter of November 3, 2014, from CAF to the Moroccan authorities after a meeting the same day on CAF`s decision to continue the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2015 as originally planned, from 17 January to 8 February, 2015, the Kingdom of Morocco maintains its request for postponement from 2015 to 2016," Morocco`s Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said in a statement.

The statement was in response to a Saturday deadline from the Confederation of African Football for official word from the Royal Moroccan Football Federation on Morocco`s final position regarding January`s championship. CAF is expected to respond on Tuesday to Morocco`s decision. Morocco had previously indicated that it wanted to postpone the African Nations Cup by at least a year due to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa, which has killed at least 5,000 people over the past year. But CAF said there was no reason to cancel the event and noted that Morocco had no Ebola concerns for December`s FIFA Club World Cup. "The number of foreign fans expected in the stadiums for the FIFA Club World 2014 is much higher than the ones expected for the Orange AFCON 2015," CAF said in its statement on Monday. "Indeed, almost all of the fans attending the Orange AFCON are residents in Morocco, and considering the average purchasing power in most African countries, it is unrealistic to expect more than 1,000 supporters from the rest of continent to attend Orange AFCON 2015." The World Health Organization (WHO) does not recommend the canceling of international meetings or mass gatherings due to Ebola, which is a highly infectious disease but requires direct contact with bodily fluids to spread.