African Sports Monthly Mar, 2015 | Page 58

Many people are still searching for the real reasons Morocco declined to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the Africa Cup was brought into question when they went ahead to hold the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup. Despite health guarantees from the Confederation of African Football, Morocco stuck to their guns and turned their back on the continent’s biggest football event. The decision was saluted by locals, who lauded their authorities for placing safety of citizens over football. In the North African region, the general sentiment was that the health of the people shouldn’t be put at risk for the sake of sports Morocco would never have refused to host the tournament if the Ebola crisis was taking place in another North African country. They feel it’s a black There is no disregarding the dangers of the deadly Ebola virus. The disease had claimed close to 5000 lives by the time Morocco shelved its plans to host the 2015 AFCON last December. man’s disease Jonathan Heizani, Zambia A number of countries had completely shut their borders with countries hit by Ebola, notably Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Some airlines refused to travel to the region despite calls from the World Health Organisation to avoid stigmatization and isolation that could dissuade potential health workers or Ebola fighters. The outbreak was just another epidemic that needed to be confronted by concerted global efforts. It wasn’t an African or West African challenge alone. Morocco’s decision not to host the 2015 Afcon fuelled the fear and myths surrounding the Ebola crisis. Title of Ebook 1