(AA) – The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations may be held by South Africa or Ghana in the event host nation Morocco succumbs to the Ebola epidemic, according to reports on Friday.
According to the BBC, the Confederation of African Football contacted officials from the South African and Ghanaian sports ministries to plan for Morocco’s possible withdrawal from the tournament.
Ghanaian sports minister Mahama Ayariga – talking to radio station Citi FM – confirmed that talks had taken place between the confederation and alternative countries.
Morocco has requested the CAF delay the 2015 tournament – due to be held from January 17 to February 8 – owing to the spread of the Ebola virus; the CAF is understood to have asked for an evaluation of the issue.
The fatal virus takes its name from the Ebola River which is close to a village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [then Zaire] where it was first recorded in 1976.
Because of the Ebola death toll in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, sports events in these countries have been interrupted. All football matches in Sierra Leone have been delayed and the CAF has cancelled international soccer events in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
