Caf, the Football Confederation of African Countries, decided on 30 November that Cameroon will no longer host the 2019 African Cup of Nations (Afcon) due to serious delays in organising the event.
The Caf also states that this decision was taken because of the precarious security situation in the country. The news was given by the president of Caf, the Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad, which explained through an official statement that 'having noted the findings of the inspection team sent to Cameroon, it has determined that Afcon 2019 cannot be exposed to problems that could negatively impact its successful completion'.
Cameroon has fallen too far behind in the work needed to be able to host an African Cup of Nations from 15 June to 13 July next year, meeting the organisational criteria of the continent's most prestigious sporting competition.
There is no denying that organising a large-scale sporting event has very high costs, as well as requiring years of planning and investment to ensure adequate facilities are in place. This is an arduous financial commitment to bear for almost all nations and in particular for Cameroon, which in the world wealth ranking, based on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - PPP per capita, occupies 183rd position out of 229 countries.