ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia failed to bid for Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2017 after the final list of six countries that beat the deadline was made public on Wednesday.
Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) had earlier in the month expressed their wish to host the prestigious tournament, but after consultations with Caf executive members, EFF president and his executive shelved the plans and instead opted to focus on African Nations Championship (Chan) 2020 and Afcon 2025.
Speaking to supersport.com, EFF president Junedin Basha explained the new development expressing his confidence that the country would be bidding for future tournaments.
“We had wanted to put up a bid, but after several discussions with Caf executives we decided to shelve the plans and prepare for 2020 Chan and 2025 since we are not yet ready with the infrastructure that includes stadiums which are still under construction.
It’s important to note that the 2017 bid was specific for countries that have managed to host top football tournaments and have existing facilities which we don’t have.
“It’s one thing to just put a bid and another having a serious bid that has met all specifications and after advice from Caf executives. We found to be very positive we decided as a federation not to bid for 2017. I can say no East African country has a realistic chance since Ethiopia was the last country to host in the early ’60s,” Basha said.
“We understand so many Ethiopians have dreams of such a big football tournament, but it’s important to prepare well and avoid heartbreak from a failed bid. That is why it was important not to present any bid, but focus on the bigger picture,” Junedin added.
Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Algeria and Egypt are the countries that presented their Afcon 2017 bids by the September 30 deadline.
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— SuperSport
