AFCON 2015: Caf stands firm on Guinea's home venue against Ghana in qualifier

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) insists that Ebola-hit Guinea's home match against Ghana next month will be played at a neutral venue despite reports that they have been cleared to host the match in Conakry.

Caf in August ordered matches to be played at a neutral venue due to the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Guinea and other countries like Sierra Leone and Liberia.

This means Guinea will host its Group E match against Ghana in Casablanca next month despite reports in Conakry that they match will be hosted there.

CAF said that there has been on change to Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers venue order despite some reports of relocation to their home venue after Ebola fears.

Caf says the measure will remain in place until its executive committee re-examines the situation this week during its meeting in Addis Ababa.

“Contrary to recent false claims disseminated by a section of the media, to create the impression that the Confederation Africaine de Football (CAF) has granted Guinea the green-light to host matches at home, CAF wishes to affirm that the circular dated 12 August 2014 which stated that Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone cannot host matches on their territories due to the Ebola outbreak still holds,” a statement from CAF read on Tuesday.

“It was mentioned in the circular that a new assessment of the situation will be discussed in mid-September 2014 in consultation with the World Health Organization and the CAF Medical Committee.

“The CAF Executive Committee is scheduled to meet on 19-20 September 2014 at the African Union (AU) Headquarters in Addis Ababa, to decide on further precautionary measures with respect to countries hit by the Ebola outbreak.”

The Guinea Football Federation played its 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo in Morocco which they won 2-1.

The Group E tie was played in Casablanca on 5 September.

Caf told Sierra Leone and Guinea to move their home matches, and the latter arranged to play their game against Togo in Morocco.

Caf said last month that the action is “a preventative measure to avoid mass gatherings that could facilitate the spread of the virus”.

It stated on its website: “Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia remain the only countries required to relocate their fixtures to neutral territories as a result of the situation of the Ebola virus.”

Caf added that it would “reassess the situation in mid-September in order to allow or not these affected countries to receive teams and organise Caf competitions”.

It added that “each national association receiving delegations must communicate the necessary information delivered by health authorities to ensure the reception of teams… and if necessary to provide additional checks at arrival points”.

The outbreak started in neighbouring Guinea and spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

To date, the World Health Organisation has reported 1848 cases of Ebola, which have resulted in 1013 deaths mainly in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

Guinea's group also includes Uganda.
The qualifying competition will decide the 15 teams to join hosts Morocco at the Nations Cup finals in January and February next year.