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Petros Kausiyo Deputy Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S prospects of hosting the 2017 African Cup of Nations remain open and alive despite doubts being cast over the country’s eligibility to stage such an event, which have been sparked by conflicting signals on the Confederation of African Football’s criteria.
The bidding process for the hosts of the 2017 showcase has been in progress since CAF sent invitations to all member associations asking them to submit by September 30 their bid documents should they be interested in hosting the competition which was originally scheduled for Libya.
There have been indications that CAF would only consider previous hosts of the tournament when they look at the bids that will be put before them by the interested countries with one of the indications pointing to the fact that Zimbabwe would be ineligible on the basis that they have never staged the event before.
Zifa communications manager Xolisani Gwesela, however, said the only circular they had received from Caf was that which invited bids and it was on the basis of that circular that Zimbabwe joined such countries like Tanzania, Algeria, Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia in taking a crack at the right to host the tournament.
“CAF wrote letters to all its members associations inviting them to submit bids for the 2017 slot and as it is we are in possession of that letter and we will therefore go ahead and submit the bid.
“We have also not received any other communication to the contrary from Caf and that is why we are pressing ahead with our bid,’’ Gwesela said.
Zifa, armed with Government support being spearheaded by the Ministries of Sport, Arts and Culture and that of Tourism and Hospitality Industry and anchored on the State’s guarantee to underwrite costs of the competition that was signed by President Mugabe, are still adamant that they will give it a shot and will submit their bid document by September 30.
The soccer mother body yesterday dispatched a delegation led by the association’s chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze to Gaborone for a meeting with the Botswana Football Association and that country’s government authorities.
Neither Mashingaidze nor any member of the Zimbabwe delegation to Botswana could be reached for comment from Gaborone, but it emerged that the trip was a follow-up to the letter, which Zifa had sent to their BFA counterparts and the interest in co-hosting shown by Botswana. BFA vice president technical Tariq Babitseng was quoted as having mandated the association’s chief executive Keith Masters to approach the Botswana government for the green light to co-host the event with Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe are also hoping to leverage on the fact the fact that Botswana have previously hosted a CAF tournament, the African Under-17 Championships and the two countries will be praying that the continental body will award them the rights to host the competition.
Although there have been indications that Caf are only awarding the Nations Cup to previous hosts, it is important to note that the same continental body’s leadership has named Guinea as the 2023 hosts when the West African country has never staged the event. Gwesela said they would let CAF decide instead of speculating on the bids.
Zifa are also hoping that CAF will consider the fact that Southern Africa has had the least opportunity of all regions to stage the continental soccer showpiece.
South Africa in 1996 and 2013 and Angola in 2010 are the only Southern African countries that have hosted the event, which began in Khartoum, Sudan in 1957.
There was no qualification for this tournament, the field being made up of the four founding nations of CAF (Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, and South Africa).
However, South Africa’s insistence on selecting only Caucasian players for their squad based on that nation’s apartheid policy led to its disqualification and as a result Ethiopia were handed a bye straight to the final.
Thus only two matches were played at the Nations Cup’s inaugural tournament with Egypt being crowned the first champions after beating Sudan in the semi-final and Ethiopia in the final.
Zimbabwe who have also sounded out Mozambique had earlier engaged Zambia with a view to co-hosting with them but their Northern neighbours who unsuccessfully bid to stage the 2019 tournament, turned them down and are now understood to be also eyeing the 2017 competition.
But it is Botswana who seem to be Zifa’s best bet ahead of the Tuesday CAF deadline.
Hosts and Winners
Year Host Winners
1957 Sudan Egypt
1959 Egypt Egypt
1962 Ethiopia Ethiopia
1963 Ghana Ghana
1965 Tunisia Ghana
1968 Ethiopia DRC
1970 Sudan Sudan
1972 CameroonCongo
1974 Egypt Zaire
1976 Ethiopia Morocco
1978 Ghana Ghana
1980 Nigeria Nigeria
1982 Libya Ghana
1984 C/d’Ivoire Cameroon
1986 Egypt Egypt)
1988 Morocco Cameroon
1990 Algeria Algeria
1992 Senegal C/d’Ivoire
1994 Tunisia Nigeria
1996 SA South Africa
1998 B/Faso Egypt
2000 Ghana, Cameroon
Nigeria
2002 Mali Cameroon
2004 Tunisia Tunisia
2006 Egypt Egypt
2008 Ghana Egypt
2010 Angola Egypt
2012 Gabon, Zambia
E. Guinea
2013 SA Nigeria
2015 Morocco
2017 TBA
2019 Cameroon
2021 Cote d’Ivoire
2023 Guinea
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