Guinea Declares Interest to host AFCON 2025

Guinea’s military junta, Colonel Mamady Doumbouya has insisted it is committed to hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Colonel Mamady said he will release funds and fast-track access to land to help the country’s preparations.

The announcement came ahead of a two-day visit by the Confederation of African Football, CAF to monitor Guinea’s progress on staging the event.

Decree
A decree by Colonel Doumbouya read out on national television declared the tournament programme to be of “national interest and priority.”

All expenses for the organisation “shall be carried out as a matter of urgency”, the decree says, announcing the opening of a special account in the public treasury.

It also declared that land needed for the tournament will fall into the category of public interest, and any property transactions or work not related to the competition will be banned on these sites

Report says Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, appointed a new organising committee in March, ousting the previous team, one of whose members publicly expressed doubts about the feasibility of the project.

However, the new authorities in place since the military coup of September 2021 have affirmed their desire to be at the rendezvous of the 2025 CAF.

Meanwhile, the country was originally scheduled to be the venue of the competition in 2023, but this was pushed back by two years when the list of organising nations was reshuffled in early 2019.

The 2023 event will instead be hosted by Ivory Coast but will be played in January and February 2024 to avoid the rainy season in the West African country.

AFRICANEWS/CO