Chosen to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Egypt faces a race against time to get ready for the event in five months, but experts say it will meet the challenge.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Tuesday said it selected Egypt ahead of South Africa to stand in for original hosts Cameroon, who were dropped due to delays in preparations and security concerns.
Since the announcement, the government and the Egyptian Football Association have given assurances the country is ready, a point they have sought to hammer home since Cameroon lost the right to host it in November.
“We have to be ready two months before the competition. So we have three months,” EFA Spokesperson Ossama Ismail said.
An organising committee would be formed, including the sports ministry, security services and football authorities, he told AFP.
Details about preparations for the competition, scheduled to be staged between June 15 and July 13, would be known “in the coming days”, he added.
It is not the first time in the history of the Cup of Nations (CAN) that the staging of Africa’s showpiece sporting event has run into trouble.
Morocco backed out as hosts of the 2015 cup for fear of an ebola outbreak, making way for Equatorial Guinea to stage it.
Security will be one of Egypt’s main challenges at the tournament, which has been expanded to 24 teams for the first time, up from 16 at the 2017 edition in Gabon.
