TheCable

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has withdrawn Kenya’s hosting rights for the 2018 African Nations Championship.

This decision was made at the CAF executive committee meeting in Accra, Ghana on Saturday. The meeting was led by Ahmad Ahmad, the body’s president.

The committee which deliberated on a 20-point agenda released a statement on its official website to announce the decision.

“With an overwhelming majority of the members present, it was decided to withdraw the hosting rights of the competition from Kenya in the light of accumulated delays from reports of the various inspection missions conducted in the country, the last of which took place from 11 to 17 September 2017,” the CAF statement read.

“The CAF Acting General Secretary has been instructed to immediately open a bidding process for a new host.

“The deadline for receipt of applications is seven days from Sunday, 24 September 2017.

“The identity of the bidding countries will be disclosed within a maximum 15 days of the opening of the bidding process.”

This is the second time that CAF is stripping Kenya of the rights to host a continental showpiece.

In 1996, Kenya was set to host the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) but was replaced with South Africa.

Morocco and South Africa are favourites to replace Kenya this time around.