Today, South African President of CAF, Patrice Motsepe announced at a press conference that CAN 2023 will be delayed until January 2024. This decision seems to have been approved by the Ivorian authorities.
The Yamoussoukro Stadium delivered, but the car parks are still not all ready.
Patrice Motsepe threw a boulder into the pond today, announcing the postponement CAN 2023. While this six-month slip was obvious to most observers, some authorities find it difficult to swallow the pill. But they eventually relativize. The president of the Confederation of African Football pointed to the extreme climatic conditions (torrential rains) that hit Côte d’Ivoire in June and July as justification. Rainfall is actually heavy at this time of the year, with notable devastation in June.
There were approximately 100 disaster victims in Abidjan in 2022. The deaths and significant material damage were accompanied by a lot of human suffering. The rising waters also prevent the population from going about its business, and thus sporting events are unable to take place as planned. We demand that the final for the rise of Ligue 1 between Africa Sports (Stade d’Abidjan) be postponed twice. All this because of the bad weather that decimated the lawn at the Marcory Champroux Stadium in Abidjan.
Timely delivery of infrastructure
The appalling weather conditions in Côte d’Ivoire during the months of June and July, the period in which the CAN 2023 was scheduled, therefore overrode the will of CAF. Although it is a blow to the authorities involved in organizing the event, it can save lives. “I am disappointed, we were so keen on this date. We did everything to make sure that we were ready on time. The only thing that consoles is that the CAN was postponed to 2024 due not to infrastructure delays but because of severe weather conditions. At this level, the president of CAF is not wrong,” says Mrs. Yoda Mariam, Director of the National Sports Office in charge of the construction of stadiums with foreign companies.
Despite the delay of a few more months, Motsepe wants to ensure everyone is able to finish the work within the original deadlines. Motsepe’s announcement is ignored. “I intend to convene a meeting with the National Bureau of Technical Studies and Development (Bnetd) which is also supervising the work. We must work as if the opening match of the event was in June 2023. I believe that this extension will allow us to better test our stadiums when they are delivered”, she applied to SNA in exclusivity.
Time to finish the infrastructure
Six months is not prohibitive to be able to read or hear authorities. It’s even a blessing in disguise, as there are many stadiums within a CAN. The road network must be improved, among other priorities. It is also anticipated that new hotel infrastructure will be built. “We are a bit stunned, but everything is fine. The stadiums were expected to arrive on time. If we want to see the positive side of things, we can state that this will allow the authorities to work more efficiently. There is the highway called La Côtière, leading from Abidjan to San Pedro, which is being redone… There must be an interchange at the level of the commune of Abobo which must partly lead to Ebimpé. It will all happen quietly. Better, the economic operators who have been chosen to build large hotels in a city like Bouaké will have the time. In short, everything is fine,” admits Sébastien Kolliabo, Director of Communications for Minister François Amichia, boss of Cocan.
Sanh SEVERIN
Source: sportnewsafrica
