Retired English footballer of Nigerian descent John Fashanu is disappointed following the Confederation of Africa Football’s postponement of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations to 2024, The PUNCH reports.
CAF president, Patrice Motsepe, while addressing the media in Rabat, Morocco’s capital on Sunday, announced the postponement of the continental showpiece.
The 34th edition had been initially scheduled for June 23 to July 23, 2023 in Ivory Coast, but Motsepe said the tournament would not go according to plan due to the weather conditions in the West African country.
Speaking with The PUNCH, Fashanu described the postponement as “ridiculous.”
He said, “This is a dream come true for the English Premier League and for other European leagues.
“It is a lovely way for them to say none of the African players will be leaving the clubs for the biggest tournament in Africa next year.
“But it is terrible and it is ridiculous to use weather as an excuse to postpone the AFCON because when has the weather ever stopped a footballer from playing football?
“Is it when it is snowing, raining or when the sun is so hot that I wouldn’t play football? It is absolute rubbish and I call it rubbish. I wasn’t surprised when I saw the news but I was rather horrified and it looks like we are going backward.
“I just hope that we can get it right in Africa and I don’t think one of the biggest tournaments in Europe would have been postponed because of weather.”
Senegal emerged the winners of the last edition of the AFCON in Cameroon in January, after defeating Egypt on penalties in the final.
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