Ghana has been stripped of the hosting rights for the 2018 Africa Women’s Nation Cup (AWCON) over poor preparation for the tournament.
The decision was arrived on Sunday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
CAF sent an inspection team to Ghana and they realised the two stadia penciled down to stage the eight nations African Women’s Championship scheduled for November this year are not ready – the Accra Sports Stadium which is undergoing renovation will not be ready before the commencement of the continental showpiece, while construction at the other part of the Cape Coast Stadium wasn’t complete as of the time the facility was inspected.
A decision by the Local Organising Committee for the competition to change the venue to Kumasi or Tamale was dismissed by CAF.
Ghana government sent a delegation led by Minister for a youth and Sports Isaac Asiamah to Madagascar to assure CAF President Ahmad that the West African nation is still committed to meeting the requirement to pave way to host the competition, but it seems the discussion was fruitless.
CAF on Sunday announced that Ghana will no longer host the 2018 Africa Women’s Championship, as the football governing body on the continent look for a new host for the showpiece.
“We are engaging several countries and should be able to announce a host during the CAF Extraordinary General Assembly in Egypt next month,” CAF Ahmad said on Sunday..
The decision to take the competition away from the West African country is a massive blow to the Ministry of Youth and Sports who went bent on hosting despite initial doubts.
