South Africa launches bid to host 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament

The news comes in the wake of Guinea being stripped of the rights to host the tournament.

It was confirmed by IOL after communication from the South African Football Association by its president Danny Jordaan.

Was the country to be awarded the rights, it would be the third time that the continent’s showpiece event would be held in this part of the continent. South Africa has previously hosted the 1996 and 2013 events.

In 1996, Kenya withdrew from hosting the tournament. As far as the 2013 event, the Libyan Civil War forced the North African country to forgo its rights to the tournament.

Bafana Bafana failed for the 2021 tournament held earlier this year in Cameroon, having organically done so in Egypt in 2019. Surprising turn of events as Guinea is stripped of 2025 Africa Cup of Nations hosting rights.

This was after the continent’s football governing body CAF was forced to strip Guinea of the rights to host the tournament.

There was nothing sinister about what led to this turn of events, with the Daily Sun reporting that the country’s leadership chose this course of action.

Apparently, the West African country is not ready for the event.

Guinean interim president Colonel Mamady Doumbouya met with CAF president Patrice Motsepe on Friday, discussing the country’s withdrawal. Guinea is one of the continent’s poorest nations.

A CAF media statement revealed that CAF’s executive committee would meet on Saturday with the intention of reopening the bidding process.

Cameroon also had to pull out of hosting the 2019 edition because of similar reasons, before it was moved to Egypt.