CAF to Decide Fate of African Matches Threatened by Political Turmoil

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: February 22, 2011

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is set to decide the fate of Egypt’s African qualifier against South Africam as well as of the U-20 African championship and home matches in Libya and Algeria in the wake of the political turmoil sweeping North Africa.

CAF together with FIFA president Sepp Blatter will meet on Thursday in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on the side lines of the second African Cup of Nations for Home-Based Players (CHAN 2011).

CAF President Issa Hayatou and Blatter are scheduled to announce at a news conference on Friday what consequences the turmoil will have for African soccer.

Tunisia, which last month sparked the wave of protests wracking the Middle East and North Africa with the toppling of President Zine Abedine Ben Ali, on Tuesday beat Algeria, which also is witnessing mass anti-government protests, 5:3 to qualify for the CHAN 2011 final against Angola.

CAF will almost certainly seek an alternative venue for the U-20 championship, which is scheduled to open in Libya on March 18. Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadaffi, in an angry, rambling televised speech, vowed to continue to the bitter end his brutal crackdown which has already led to the deaths of hundreds of protesters.

Beyond security concerns, international condemnation of the use of snipers, heavy machine guns and fighter aircraft in the crackdown makes Libya a virtually unacceptable venue.

Analysts say South Africa, which last year made its mark as host of the World Cup and the African Women’s Nations Cup, would be the most likely alternative to Libya.

"We are evaluating the situation right now, so there is no point rushing into taking a decision for matches that are happening in one month," said CAF interim secretary general Hicham El Amrani.

FIFA last week rescheduled a 2012 Olympic qualifier between Yemen and Singapore because of mass protests wracking Yemen.

Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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