The chairman of the Competitions Committee of the Egyptian Football Association Amer Hussien said on Thursday that hosting the African Cup of Nations in June 2019 (AFCON 2019) would not affect the Premier League schedule and that all stadiums in the country are ready to host the event.
On Wednesday, Egypt’s Sports Minister Ashraf Sobhi announced that Egypt is considering making a bid to host AFCON after Morocco announced earlier in the day it would not bid to host the tournament.
Last month, CAF stripped Cameroon, the original designated host of AFCON 2019, of the rights to host the tournament, citing delays in its preparations for the expanded 24-team tournament.
Reason why CAF stripped Cameroon of 2019 AFCON rights
“We have no problem with hosting the 2019 African Cup of Nations next June,” Hussien told Egyptian sports website FilGoal.
“The Egyptian Premier League schedule will be finished on time without any changes.”
“In the event that Egypt organises the tournament, the Premier League schedule won’t be affected, as we already arrange our league schedule according to the FIFA’s agenda,” he added.
“We don’t have any problems with the stadiums as all the fields in Egypt are ready and we don’t need big preparations for the tournament,” Hussein added.
Egypt hosted the tournament three times in 1974, 1986 and 2006. The national team won it a record seven times.
Credit: AhramOnline
