adminTeams arriving at the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea have been forced to search for places to sleep because of a lack of hotel rooms. Congo coach Claude Le Roy said five of his 35-strong party attending the tournament did not have accommodation.
He revealed that the hotel the bulk of his team are in lacks running water and has exposed electrical cables.
Burkina Faso coach Paul Put also criticised facilities, saying the event should have been delayed until June.
Congo, who play Equatorial Guinea in their opening game tomorrow, are based in the port city of Bata.
“There’re not enough places for my staff and it’s even difficult to find rooms for the players,” Le Roy told the BBC World Service.
“Some of my assistants went around to see if there were rooms available somewhere but it seems very very difficult.”
Le Roy said Congo had not received any help from the Confederation of African Football, adding that his party had arrived a day before they were officially due because they expected organisational problems.
“I don’t want a big five-star hotel. I just want something very clean.”
Le Roy said he had told the players to make sure they qualify for the last eight so they will get a “very nice hotel” when other teams leave.
Put said that some of his players were feeling unwell and angry after their disrupted preparation.
He added that “time was too short to organise a tournament like this”, even though Equatorial Guinea acted as co-hosts of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with Gabon.
The tournament starts tomorrow and ends on Sunday, February 8. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter