If Ghana has $10m to host AFCON why go for bailout - Chris Opoku

Ace journalist and Sports Commentator, Christopher Opoku has described as ill-timed the consideration of government to host the 2015 AFCON per a request put in by the continental body CAF.

The sports analyst holds the view that Ghana is in no position to host the 2017 tournament let alone serve as the replacement for Morocco which has superior medical and economic systems.

According to Christopher Opoku, the request by Morocco that the tournament be postponed until the threat of Ebola subsides to safeguard the health of its citizens and other nationals is a sound one the Confederation of African Football (CAF) must heed.

Sports minister Hassan Ayariga in an interview disclosed that CAF had made contact about the possibility of the state hosting the event but assertions by the minister that the country is ready to host the tournament has received a backlash from sections of the public who deem the timing of the offer as ill timed.

The Editor of Footy Ghana.Com noted that when a similar offer was made to South Africa which had hosted a world cup and two AFCON tournaments and better prepared financially and medically, declined the offer in the social interest of its citizens.

According to the sports analyst, the African Cup of Nations tournament ought to be postponed for 6 months in the wake of the Ebola scare so CAF and stakeholders such as the African Union can liaise and develop modalities to protect the footballers and nationals of the African states.

“CAF has a history of taking decisions and coming back to apologise, the threat at Cabinda was raised but they ignored it only for the Togo team to be attacked leading to loss of lives”, he said.

Mr. Opoku said any talk of gains to be made by hosting the Nations cup is flawed as exemplified by the fiasco of 2008 when Ghana hosted the tournament. Mr. Opoku said the Woyome scandal and other judgment debt cases came about because of the hosting of the 2008 Nations Cup.

“I beg to differ with the minister on his enthusiasm for the state to host the tournament, perhaps he might want to put it on his cv that he won a nation’s cup for the country but the timing is wrong”, Mr. Opoku asserted.

Christopher Opoku indicated that with power cuts, challenged economy and Ebola outbreak, should the government disregard caution and accept to host the tournament, it needs to set aside 10 million dollars to enable it host the tournament, with such an amount, the sports analyst wondered why the state went in for a bail out in the first place.