Upcoming qualifying fixtures for the Africa Cup of
Nations could be under threat due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus in West
Africa.
Both the Togo Football Federation (TFF) and the Sierra
Leone Football Association (SLFA) have found their qualifiers in September are
likely to be affected.
On Tuesday, the TFF announced it had received
authorisation from CAF to play its upcoming qualifier against Guinea in a new
venue.
This comes after Togolese officials approached the
continental body saying its players were concerned about the outbreak of Ebola
in Guinea and were concerned for their safety. More than 360 people have died
in the country since the first virus infections were recorded in March.
In Sierra Leone last week, the SLFA suspended all
football matches until further notice because of the outbreak. They also
approached the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to play their home match
against DR Congo on September 10 in Ghana.
Ghana FA spokesman Ibrahim Sane confirmed the approach,
telling BBC Sport: "We have asked the Sierra Leone Football Association to
use the government to contact our foreign ministry and ministry of health for
clearances."
There could be more fixtures affected as Rwanda have also
raised concerns over Ebola ahead of their scheduled trip to face Nigeria on
September 6, after Africa's most populous nation confirmed they are dealing
with 10 confirmed cases of the virus.
0 comments:
Post a Comment