The 2012 Africa Cup of Nations Local Organising Committee (Cocan) announced on Wednesday that a total of 300 Gabonese journalists have applied via Caf’s website for accreditations to cover the tournament.
According to the head of Cocan’s communication and marketing commission Louis Claude Moundzieoud Koumba, the unprecedented high turnout is due to the fact that the showpiece is being partially held at home, which will cut cost of sponsoring local journalists.
Only 50 had applied to cover the final draw of the tournament held on October 29 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.
However, Koumba noted that all applications would be sent to the Cocan from the Caf headquarters in Cairo for confirmation.
“We will be doing our selection on the basis of objective criteria,” Koumba said. “The first thing is to verify if the media seeking accreditation is a rights holder or not; if it regularly covers sports (football) or not. Then there are such criteria as: the seriousness, regularity and the scope of the media, if it is followed or not,” he said.
He added that journalists who did not apply via Caf’s website during the indicated period (November 1 to December 1) would not be considered for any reasons.
Gabon and Equatorial Guinea will jointly host the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations which debuts on January 21 and ends on February 12, 2012.