CAN-2027: l'option d'un report agitée
Postponing the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations would benefit Kenya, one of the three host countries, given the high risk of election violence at that time in the East African country, the chairman of the Kenyan organizing committee told AFP on Thursday.
An article published Wednesday by the British newspaper The Guardian indicates that the competition could be postponed to 2028, as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are not yet ready to host the event.
An inspection team from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) is currently in Tanzania and is due to hold a meeting on the state of preparations on Friday.
CAF President Patrice Motsepe has already stated that he is confident the competition will proceed smoothly in 2027, as planned.
But for the chairman of the Kenyan organizing committee, Nicholas Musonye, a one-year postponement "would be a good thing for Kenya, given that the country would be preparing for the legislative and presidential elections" scheduled for August 2027.
"We have seen the unstable atmosphere around these elections in Tanzania, Uganda and even Kenya. Security would not be guaranteed for such an important competition," he also stressed to AFP.
Kenya has experienced serious election violence, notably in 2007 and 2017, and more than 100 people have been killed in anti-government protests in the past two years.
In Tanzania, thousands of protesters were killed by security forces after an election deemed fraudulent.
In Uganda, the opposition leader fled after last month's elections, and according to the army chief, dozens of his supporters were killed after being accused of terrorism by re-elected President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 1986.
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, three East African countries, already co-hosted last year the African Nations Championship (CHAN), a competition reserved for teams composed exclusively of players playing in their national leagues.
However, this tournament had been postponed from the beginning of the year to August in order to allow for the continuation of the development and upgrading of the infrastructure.
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