Sports News of Friday, 21 July 2017
Source: citifmonline.com
2017-07-21
Ponga Liwewe
The Secretary General of the Zambian Football Federation, Ponga Liwewe insists that countries that habour hopes of hosting the AFCON in future especially those outside the continent ,will need the full support of their government , the football fraternity and the support of the general public.
This was in relation to past situations where there has been poor attendance at AFCON tournaments, particularly the 2017 AFCON in Gabon, where the crowds were sparse.
He also stated that these three facets show that you are halfway to hosting a successful tournament.
The United States and Qatar have been mentioned as two of the possible nations that could be used to pilot the out of continent experiment.
Liwewe also believes that the local team hosting the tournament has to be a success and as thus there must be an investment in preparing the team because you cannot go to a tournament and come out just after the first round.
As in the case of Gabon , who hosted the 2017 AFCON but were eliminated in the group stages.
He made the statement during a two day African Football symposium in the Moroccan Capital, Rabat.
The Symposium was attended and chaired by new CAF president Ahmad Ahmad who made his first move in considering the expansion of the African Cup Of Nations which will also be open to non- African countries.