TheCable

Amaju Pinnick, president of the Nigeria Football Federation, on Wednesday, explained why it has become imperative for the African Cup of Nations to be expanded.

Pinnick, who also heads AFCON, made the presentation in Rabat, Morocco, before a gathering of African football’s decision makers.

He said an expanded tournament will generate more revenue for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and also make it possible to discover rare talents from small footballing countries on the continent.

“This proposal is hinged on sporting, commercial and infrastructural reasons, and we believe that sooner than later, everyone would come to appreciate the position of the proponents of a bigger Africa Cup of Nations,” Pinnick said.

“George Weah from Liberia became the only African to have been named the World Player of the Year, same year he was voted the African Player of the Year and European Player of the Year.

“He is from a nation (Liberia) many would consider a minnow in the African game.

“If we have a bigger AFCON, there will definitely be more talented players coming onto the stage, and we could just discover that the next ‘Weah’ would come from either Djibouti or Botswana.

“For commercial reason, more corporate organisations and stakeholders will be involved and it is certainly a bigger cake for everyone.

“CAF will be richer and the Member Associations will surely benefit. When UEFA staged the European Championship in 2012, when it was a 16 –team event, they made a profit of $1.5 billion. Last year, when they staged a 24 –team event for the first time, they made $2.1 billion.

“Having a 24 –team AFCON will also compel the development of stadia facilities across the African continent, as CAF will certainly encourage co-hosting, and this will also ginger general infrastructural development in the continent.”