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Nigeria
are the defending champions after beating Burkina Faso in 2013
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The
Confederation of African Football (CAF) has said next year's African Nations
Cup will go ahead as scheduled despite a request from the Moroccan government
for its postponement.
Morocco
made the request because of fears over the spread of the
Ebola virus, which has so far killed more than 4,000 people as it sweeps
through west Africa.
Fatalities
have been reported in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, although no
cases have yet been reported in African Nations Cup host country Morocco.
CAF
officials had said they would review a report from the Moroccan health ministry
about the dangers involved in hosting the tournament.
And
in a statement released on Saturday, they announced that the
event would be going ahead as planned.
However,
further discussions on the issue would take place at the CAF executive
committee meeting early next month, with a meeting with Moroccan officials then
being held.
"CAF
has registered the request and wishes to state that there are no changes of the
schedules of its competitions and events," the statement said.
"It
must be noted that, since the first edition in 1957, the Africa Cup of Nations
has never witnessed a deferral or a change in schedule.
"CAF
has also been cautions since the commencement of the final round... on the
health risks posed by the Ebola virus and has consistently applied
precautionary principles, taking into account the recommendations of the World
Health Organisation and various medical experts."
The
African Nations Cup is scheduled to run from Jan. 17 until Feb. 8, 2015.
Source:
http://www.espnfc.com
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