ESWATINI, BURKINA FASO TO CONFIRM AFCON QUALIFIERS VENUES

MBABANE – Eswatini and Burkina Faso are now the two remaining countries to confirm venues in which they will host their home AFCON qualifiers later this month.

Sierra Leone, Eswatini and Burkina Faso will not be able to host their final ‘home’ Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this March. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has ruled that the trio’s stadia do not meet the standards to host international matches.

Confirmation

According to BBC Sport, Sierra Leone has moved their Group L tie against Benin to Conakry, the capital of Guinea. However, Burkina Faso and already-eliminated Sihlangu are yet to confirm new venues for their games against South Sudan and Guinea-Bissau respectively. Eswatini used Mavuso Sports Centre for international games which CAF banned for similar reasons as highlighted by CAF for banning Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown. The Leone Stars coach John Keister is said to have stated that he was not worried about their potentially decisive match against Benin in Guinea on March 30. “Moving the match to Conakry doesn’t make much difference because like the Freetown stadium, I don’t think fans will be allowed to enter the Conakry stadium,” coach Keister told BBC Sport Africa. “Covid-19 restriction is my biggest concern, not the change of venue. We have to accept the situation, it is what it is. We have no choice.

Preparations

In terms of preparations, we have to rely on the Sierra Leone FA and Government to put things in place for us to get ourselves well prepared.” BBC Sport Africa reported that the poor pitch and dressing rooms and the lack of media tribune at Siaka Stevens Stadium in Freetown were among things CAF highlighted for their reasons to move the match to a neutral venue. It is not the first time that Sierra Leone has had to move international matches. The 28 September Stadium in Conakry hosted Leone Stars’ ‘home’ matches against Senegal and Togo in the 1994 qualifiers when the Freetown Stadium was suspended for one year for overcrowding. The Ebola crisis also forced the Leone Stars to play ‘home’ matches outside the country, away from home, in both the 2015 and 2017 Nations Cup qualifiers.

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