How Africa
President of the African Football Confederation Ahmad Ahmad responded in surprising terms to an Algerian journalist who was questioning him about the ability of some African countries to organize the African Cup of Nations (CAN).
The organization of the next edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) football was awarded on January 8 to Egypt during a meeting of the executive committee of the African Confederation of (CAF) in Dakar. Like South Africa, its only competitor, the country submitted its candidacy in December, following CAF’s decision to withdraw the organization of the sports event in Cameroon, due to the delay in the realization of the stadiums that were to host the matches.
Speaking on the designation of the host country, the president of the African instance Ahmed Ahmad, had a heated exchange with one of the journalists who questioned him. The latter asked him if the decision to increase the number of countries participating in the CAN to 24 (in previous editions, the number of qualified teams was limited to 16) would not prevent certain countries from organizing the competition, in view of the difficulties that such a configuration entails.
Irritated by the question, Ahmad Ahmad responded, not without a touch of nervousness: “Stop […] Respect us Africans. I hear everywhere [the same thing]. [You say that] maybe because you are a little white. Stop that. We are proud to be African, “said the boss of the CAF to his interlocutor, who let him know, not without difficulty, that he too was African because Algerian.
The sequence, relayed on Twitter by the website of the Moroccan sports channel Arryadia, concludes with yet another charge of Ahmad Ahmad against the journalist: “Move, find out. You will not talk that way anymore. It makes me angry. I am proud to be African. If you’re not, I’m proud of it. ”
The 2019 edition of the Africa Cup of Nations will be held from June 15 to July 13.
