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President of the Nigeria
Football Federation and President of AFCON, Amaju Pinnick on Wednesday in Rabat
told the gathering of African football’s decision makers why CAF’s flagship
tournament should be expanded.
“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.
“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 organizations 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.”
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