Caf suspends matches in Guinea, Liberia & Sierra Leone due to Ebola virus
Guinea in action against Spain in a friendly last November
By Kingsley Kobo
Aug 13, 2014 13:18:00
The continental football body says teams from the three countries will play their home games in neutral venues due to the threat of the disease
The Confederation of African Football has ordered the federations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to relocate their home matches to neutral venues following the spread of the Ebola virus in those countries.
The national teams of these nations will be participating in the upcoming 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers set for early September. Their opponents, notably Togo, recently complained to Caf to move the matches away from those countries due to the threat of the deadly disease, which has devastated regions of Western Africa in recent weeks.
Caf has now ordered fixtures in those countries to be relocated due to the threat of the highly-infectious virus spreading further.
"Caf maintains all its fixtures on the continent except in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, where the Ebola disease has registered a high record of infection," the body said in a statement on Tuesday.
The measure will remain in force until mid September and will be reviewed in accordance with the health situation in those countries, Caf said.
The Guinea-Togo match in Group E of the 2015 Afcon qualifiers was set to be held in the Guinean capital of Conakry on September 5, while Sierra Leone were to host DR Congo in Group D on September 10.
The Sierra Leone FA is currently in talks with Ghanaian officials to play their home matches in Accra, according to sources in Freetown.
The Ebola virus has infected close to 2000 people in the three countries, causing 373 deaths in Guinea, 323 in Liberia and 315 in Sierra Leone. There is no definite cure, according to the World Health Organisation, although untested treatment methods have recently proved effective in two cases affecting Americans.
