Hosts Morocco kicked out of Africa Cup of Nations and stripped of tournament

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) disqualified Morocco from competing in next year’s Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday. Morocco had been due to host the 2015 tournament but raised fears over the spread of the Ebola virus and asked for the event to be postponed. CAF has always insisted the cup should still take place from January 17-February 8 and has now disqualified Morocco from taking part. An official statement from the CAF said: “The Royal Moroccan Football Federation reiterated its refusal to hold the competition on the dates indicated (January 17-February 8, 2015).”

Having firmly and unanimously notified its decision to keep the competition on the dates indicated, the Executive Committee confirmed that the Orange Africa Cup of Nations 2015 will not take place in Morocco.

CAF official statement

The statement continued: “The Executive Committee took note of receipt by 10 November 2014 of some applications of national associations confirming their desire to host the 2015 competition on the dates agreed. These applications are currently under review, and the Executive Committee will finalise the selection of the successful National Association shortly and confirm the place and date of the draw of the final tournament at the same time. Accordingly, and following the refusal of the Moroccan party, the Executive Committee has decided that the national team of Morocco is automatically disqualified and will not take part in the 30th edition of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.” No decision has yet been made on where the tournament will take place.

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