Morocco’s Minister of Youth and Sport, Rachid Talbi Alami has revealed that his country won’t be making a bid to host the 2019 Nations Cup.
The North African nation had been tipped as a possible replacement for Cameroon, who were stripped of the hosting rights last month on account of poor preparations.
“Morocco did not intend to run for the 2019 African Cup of Nations and will not do so,” Minister of Youth and Sport Rachid Talbi Alami told AFP.
Morocco – which had been widely tipped to step in to host next year’s Nations Cup – has only ever hosted Africa’s flagship football tournament once, back in 1988.
The 2019 finals will be the first to feature 24 teams, rather than 16, and be held in June/July, as opposed to its traditional January/February slot.