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Africa 'Copa' of Nations 2015 - Ivory Coast Champions


Toon Hoser

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Pretty sure there was only a couple of 0-0's in the 2013 ACON...that's over the entire tournament. I certainly don't remember any in the knockout stage. In terms of red cards- there's not really any more or less than any other international tournament. The ACON is victim of a lot of lazy & ill-researched stereotypes, don't understand why...yes the stadiums are crumbling sometimes, you can expect at least 3/4 of the pitches to be terrible and yes, it's full of Africans. But the games are normally fast-paced and a decent standard, yes the gulf in quality is huge from a country like Morocco down to someone like Niger (which can sometimes affect the games) but that's to be expected, the overall quality in Africa is not as competitive as other continents.

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Great, theirs no real threat to the players who will be hidden away and will have access to 5* medical treatment but for the fans it's going to be a massive gamble.

 

Apart from the very high likelihood no infected countries are going to qualify, very small travelling numbers, and there being any cases in Morocco. But aye aside, from that it's a massive gamble.

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When I say "the last time I watched it" that was the tournament when Bikey got sent off for attacking the ambulance guy :lol:

 

:lol: :lol:

 

The Cameroon vs Ghana semi? I remember that, decent game I thought though...with the man mountain, Rigobert Song  :)

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my only memory of an ACoN was some game where a lad got cut in half and was screaming his head off and rolling around, some players or whoever dragged him a few feet to the side of the pitch and the game carried on while his still audible screams were heard via the TV mics

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Morocco blocks the Road to Morocco.

 

 

Morocco has refused to host January’s Africa Cup of Nations finals amid fears over the spread of the Ebola virus, throwing the 2015 tournament into jeopardy.

 

The country, who had asked for the 16-team event to be postponed, rejected an ultimatum set by the Confederation of African Football to confirm their hosting of the championship, due to take place 17 January to 8 February.

 

A statement from Morocco’s sports ministry said: “The decision is dictated by health reasons because of the serious threat of Ebola and the risk of its spreading.”

 

A decision on what happens next will be made next week when CAF have an executive committee meeting in Cairo, but Morocco will almost certainly be stripped as hosts.

 

Morocco is concerned that supporters from west Africa converging on the country could bring with them the deadly virus and put at risk their important tourist industry. They had asked for the event to be postponed to June, or even January 2016, but this was rejected by CAF, who set a deadline of Saturday to confirm their host status.

 

CAF can now either move the event to another country – although they have had no public expression of interest from nations they approached to be on standby as possible emergency hosts – or cancel it at great financial cost.

 

CAF accused Morocco of being alarmist in its fears over the spread of the virus, which has caused almost 5,000 deaths in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, and set out a lengthy list of reasons why it felt they could still host the tournament without any risk.

 

But Morocco stood firm and could face sanctions including the possibility of a lengthy ban from future tournaments – despite an offer in the new statement to host the 2017 finals.

 

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The Road From Morocco begins.

 

 

CAF president Issa Hayatou said the regional governing body would talk to countries who were interested in taking over the Jan. 17 to Feb. 8 finals and expected a quick resolution amid suggestions Qatar had been sounded out about hosting the event.

 

Speaking to France 24, Hayatou also reiterated CAF's stance that by giving in to Morocco's request to have the date of the tournament moved it would set an unwanted precedent.

 

"Once you postpone this event, it will open the door for everybody to ask for a delay of any competition and we will no longer be credible," Hayatou said.

 

"We will hurt our sponsors and partners. Everyone will say we are not ready and finally it is CAF that will pay the price. That is what I told the Moroccans.

 

"We cannot sign our death warrant because if we postpone this event it will be very deadly for African football. For 57 years, we have patiently built this house, which today is the pride of all Africans.

 

"They have this festival every two years and we are not about to leave the opportunity to anyone to destroy the work we have patiently developed over the years.

 

"I cannot tell you where it will be played. All I can tell you is that it will take place."

 

Angola, Egypt, Gabon and Nigeria were the countries being touted as possible replacement hosts by African media.

 

French sports daily L'Equipe suggested on Wednesday that 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar could also be set to help.

 

EBOLA RISK

 

Morocco believes thousands of travelling supporters from west Africa pose a risk and wanted a postponement of at least six months while the fight against Ebola intensified.

 

The virus has killed at least 4,950 people in the world's worst Ebola epidemic since the disease was identified in 1976.

 

CAF announced it would seek legal redress from Morocco based on its contractual agreement with the Royal Moroccan Football Federation which was signed in April.

 

Moroccan football is also likely to be heavily sanctioned, including a likely ban from future Nations Cup competitions.

 

However, the Moroccan sports minister Mohamed Ouzzine told MPs on Tuesday in a parliamentary debate after the CAF decision that the country had not broken its contract.

 

"Morocco has not breached any contract because of the force majeure. We will not rush to answer, but everyone should know that we are prepared for all eventualities," he said.

 

"The WHO (World Health Organisation) says that every country has the right to take the necessary measures to protect its citizens... The whole world is incapable to find some treatment or some solution for that disease (Ebola), so isn't it a force majeure?"

 

"The CAF statement said we refuse to organise the competition, and it's wrong. We want the tournament in our country, but we maintain our demand to postpone it."

 

"We can talk about sanctions now, but we should not forget what would happen in case we have not taken our decision."

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Brian Homewood‏@brianhomewood·1 hr1 hour ago

It's Malabo or bust. CAF award the Nations Cup to Equatorial Guinea, who were kicked out of the qualifiers for cheating.

 

CAF are a phenomenal organisation. The jovial banter to FIFA's vile in the corruption stakes.

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When I say "the last time I watched it" that was the tournament when Bikey got sent off for attacking the ambulance guy :lol:

 

Last time I watched the goals broke in the 85th minute. Despite there only being 5 minutes play left they added on 15 more anyway.

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When I say "the last time I watched it" that was the tournament when Bikey got sent off for attacking the ambulance guy :lol:

 

Last time I watched the goals broke in the 85th minute. Despite there only being 5 minutes play left they added on 15 more anyway.

 

I remember that, it was the worst reffing I've ever seen. The clock was stopped for like 15 minutes, which I dunno why it happened in the first place since you don't stop the clock in football but they did. Then it resumed play and they added the time on that the clock was stopped for. Essentially 15 extra minutes for no reason whatsoever. It was mental, and the most infuriating thing was that nobody in the crowd, the players or the managers noticed the mistake. Match reports online never mentioned it either. Drove me mental, even though it mattered little because Togo doubled their lead during it.

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  • 2 weeks later...

 

A

Equatorial Guinea

Congo

Gabon

Burkina Faso

 

 

Group of Death

Gabon have that Dortmund lad don't they?

 

 

 

http://d.ibtimes.co.uk/en/full/383935/pierre-emerick-aubameyang.jpg?w=630&h=314&l=50&t=50

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