CAF must rethink this Ebola AFCON!

For record purposes and bragging rights, we fully are supportive of the Black Stars beating their Togolese counterparts, the Sparrow Hawks,  in Tamale today to post an Africa Nations Cup qualification.

But after today’s expected victory, our interest in Ghana’s participation at the 2015 AFCON rescheduled for Equatorial Guinea from January 17 to February 8 is anything but enthusiastic.

We are not at all enthused about CAF’s intransigence to have the tournament take place willy-nilly, in spite of the grave fear of the contagious and deadly Ebola virus on the continent.

What is the big idea by President Issa Hayatou and his men as to the foolhardiness in risking the health of the entire continent by the staging of the AFCON next year?

We are in total agreement with Morocco, the original hosts of the tournament, and other voices calling for the postponement of the 2015 AFCON.

After all, there will be more AFCONS after 2015, but the same cannot be said for the human lives that may be afflicted by the spread of Ebola during the tournament.

But the problem cannot be placed on the heads of Hayatou and his henchmen alone. We think the various political leaders of Africa, as well as their respective football chiefs, cannot stay aloof in this matter, since their collective decision for a boycott of the tournament would force a CAF rethink.

It is a shame that Morocco had not received spontaneous support from  other African countries, some of whom had toyed with the idea of taking over the hosting responsibility when Morocco dropped it until Equatorial Guinea stepped in with the infamous rescue.

But it makes no sense to us that after countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa had turned down the offer to replace Morocco for fear of the Ebola virus, these same countries and others are feverishly in the groove of qualifying to participate in the tournament.

Are we that insensitive as to expose our nationals (players, officials and supporters) to the deadly virus, which is known to spread and terminate lives instantaneously through contact with unknown carriers?

In a thought-provoking article by one of our staff members, Michael Quaye, which appeared in the last MONDAY SPECIAL edition of this paper, he was spot-on when he querried:” ... of what use is it when we protest against hosting the tournament but give full support through participation in the qualifiers that would lead to the tournament proper?”

And we find it intriguing, if not amusing, the exposure of the double standards of Ghana and others in this whole 2015 AFCON caboodle.

This is why Quaye’s concerns are worth stressing here in these probing thoughts: “If Ghana must not host the tournament for fear of Ebola, is it fair to participate in the tournament when that burden is pushed onto some other country?

“In any case, how big is the difference in terms of risk between these two scenarios: hosting the tournament and participating in the tournament?”