PINNICK: WHY WE’RE PROPOSING 24 TEAM AFCON

RABAT, Morocco – President of the Nigeria Football Federation and President of AFCON, Amaju Pinnick on Wednesday in Rabat told the gathering of African football’s decision makers why CAF’s flagship tournament should be expanded.

“This proposal is hinged on sporting, commercial and infrastructural reasons, and we believe that sooner than later, everyone would come to appreciate the position of the proponents of a bigger Africa Cup of Nations.

“George Weah from Liberia became the only African to have been named the World Player of the Year, same year he was voted the African Player of the Year and European Player of the Year. He is from a nation (Liberia) many would consider a minnow in the African game. If we have a bigger AFCON, there will definitely be more talented players coming onto the stage, and we could just discover that the next ‘Weah’ would come from either Djibouti or Botswana.

“For commercial reason, more corporate organizations and stakeholders will be involved and it is certainly a bigger cake for everyone. CAF will be richer and the Member Associations will surely benefit. When UEFA staged the European Championship in 2012, when it was a 16 –team event, they made a profit of $1.5 billion. Last year, when they staged a 24 –team event for the first time, they made $2.1 billion.

“Having a 24 –team AFCON will also compel the development of stadia facilities across the African continent, as CAF will certainly encourage co-hosting, and this will also ginger general infrastructural development in the continent.”

African Football Symposium ends in Rabat

A two –day symposium on African football with the theme, ‘African Football: Our Vision’ ended in Rabat, Morocco on Wednesday with high hopes for the future of the African game.

Presidents and General Secretaries of CAF’s 55 Member Associations were joined by Chairmen of Leagues, top –notch club owners, marketing gurus, media luminaries, broadcast partners, legal experts and playing legends at enthusiastic sessions held inside the International Conference Centre Mohammed VI in Skhirat, on the outskirts of Morocco’s administrative capital.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Fatma Samoura, a Senegalese, also attended, with the former calling out African football leaders to eradicate the ugly menace of age cheating as a first step in fostering the growth of the game.

“This symposium will prove crucial to the future of African football. We must be united and work very hard, and be sincere in putting the best ideas on the table to propel African football to new levels,” said Infantino.

In an impressive mix of English and French (and a few words in Arabic), the FIFA boss also pledged the world body’s support for the steps that must be taken to reposition the African game, while acknowledging that women football in African has potential to be a much bigger brand. He also asserted that long –term investment is the way to go for African football.

CAF President Ahmad, who spoke after Morocco’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Rachid Talmi and Infantino during Tuesday’s opening ceremony, said: “The truth is that we must find consensus here on the way forward for the African game. We must focus on the essentials and forge a change in the direction of the African game. We will be having a different symposium for the women’s game in the first quarter of 2018.”

After the first session that had Infantino, Ahmad, UNAIDS’ Djibril Diallo and beIN Media Group’s Nasser El Khelaifi, the gathering broke into different work groups, who made recommendations and proposals that were presented and harmonized on Tuesday.

The proposals from the work groups, and submissions from different stakeholders as collated, would be considered by the CAF Executive Committee at its meeting on Thursday morning. A CAF Extra –Ordinary General Assembly will take place at the Hotel Sofitel in Rabat on Friday.