Dramatic changes to
Africa's top competition now await rubber-stamping by the executive committee
of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) after recommendations made at a
conference in Morocco on Wednesday.
BBC
Africa Live report continues:
The
showpiece Africa Cup of Nations finals is set to be expanded and its
contentious timing changed, but its frequency will remain every two years.
The
tournament is likely to be moved to June and July, instead of January and
February, and will increase from 16 to 24 teams.
The
two annual club competitions - the African Champions League and African
Confederation Cup - are likely to run from August to May rather than inside a
calendar year, as has been the case for decades.
It will increase revenue for CAF and we can triple our income
- ---- NFF President Amaju
Pinnick on Nations Cup expansion
Changes
to refereeing structures, coaching standards and medical preparedness were also
recommended.
CAF Explains
24-Team Nations Cup Proposal
• African football symposium ends in Rabat
African Nations Cup Organizing
Committee Chairman, Amaju Pinnick, yesterday in Rabat told the gathering of the
continent’s football’s decision makers why CAF’s flagship tournament should be
expanded.
Media
report continues:
“This
proposal is hinged on sporting, commercial and infrastructural reasons, and we
believe that sooner than later, everyone would come to appreciate the position
of the proponents of a bigger Africa Cup of Nations.
“George
Weah from Liberia became the only African to have been named the World Player
of the Year, same year he was voted the African Player of the Year and European
Player of the Year. He is from a nation (Liberia) many would consider a minnow
in the African game. If we have a bigger AFCON, there will definitely be more
talented players coming onto the stage, and we could just discover that the
next ‘Weah’ would come from either Djibouti or Botswana.
“For
commercial reasons, more corporate organizations and stakeholders will be
involved and it is certainly a bigger cake for everyone. CAF will be richer and
the Member Associations will surely benefit.
“When
UEFA staged the European Championship in 2012, when it was a 16 –team event,
they made a profit of US$1.5 billion. Last year, when they staged a 24 –team
event for the first time, they made US$2.1 billion.”
Pinnick
said having a 24-team AFCON would also compel the development of stadia
facilities across the African continent, “as CAF will certainly encourage
co-hosting, and this will also ginger general infrastructural development in
the continent.”
The
two–day symposium on African football with the theme, ‘African Football: Our
Vision’ ended in Rabat, Morocco yesterday with high hopes for the future of the
African game.
Presidents
and General Secretaries of CAF’s 55 member associations were joined by Chairmen
of Leagues, top–notch club owners, marketing gurus, media luminaries, broadcast
partners, legal experts and playing legends at enthusiastic sessions held
inside the International Conference Centre Mohammed VI in Skhirat, on the
outskirts of Morocco’s administrative capital.
FIFA
President, Gianni Infantino and Secretary General, Fatma Samoura, a Senegalese,
also attended, with the former calling out African football leaders to
eradicate the ugly menace of age cheating as a first step in fostering the
growth of the game.
“This
symposium will prove crucial to the future of African football. We must be
united and work very hard, and be sincere in putting the best ideas on the
table to propel African football to new levels,” said Infantino.
In
an impressive mix of English and French (and a few words in Arabic), the FIFA
boss also pledged the world body’s support for the steps that must be taken to
reposition the African game, while acknowledging that women football in African
has potential to be a much bigger brand. He also asserted that long –term
investment is the way to go for African football.
CAF President Ahmad, who spoke after Morocco’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Rachid Talmi and Infantino during Tuesday’s opening ceremony, said: “The truth is that we must find consensus here on the way forward for the African game. We must focus on the essentials and forge a change in the direction of the African game. We will be having a different symposium for the women’s game in the first quarter of 2018.”
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