Facebook Del.icio.us Digg Voisineo

The usual Press Conference by CAF President Issa Hayatou and FIFA Presdent Joseph Sepp Blatter came off after the 34th CAF Odinary General Assembly on Friday in Libreville, Gabon.

 

In his opening remarks, Hayatou congratulated the Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for the successful organisation of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.

 

“They have set the bar high. On the quality of football, viewers and the general public are the judges. The matches have been close and officiating has been impressive,” said Hayatou.

 

Blatter on his part said: “This year marks my 36th year of association with African football. At the Congress in 1976 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, I attended the first ever CAF Congress as Technical Director of FIFA and presented the development programme.

 

“In 36-years, many things have changed. I commend the co-hosts Gabon and Equatorial Guinea for the standard infrastructure for the organisation of the tournament,” Blatter remarked.

 

Hayatou: It is not written in our statutes that the Africa Cup of Nations be organised by one country. Co-hosting offers the opportunity to save resources compared to one country catering for 16-teams. Co-hosting is ideal for small countries and to encourage other federations to have a feel of the Africa Cup of Nations. It is our hope that all 54 National Associations will one-day host the tournament.

 

Hayatou: The requirement says it has to be hosted in at least four cities. If a country has the logistics to include more cities, we have no problem with that.   

 

Hayatou: We should not be tempted by the desire of UEFA to have 24 countries in the Euro finals. Sixteen is our strength. We do not have the means. Lets handle the situation at our pace and availability of resources, rather than emulate others.

 

Hayatou: We discussed with our partners in trying to find reasonable rates. You know our resources are limited and we have to be self sufficient. Marketing and TV rights are the main income of CAF.

We always review it critically and reach a deal based on that.

 

It is not for me to judge my performance. During the General Assembly, the national associations approved of my continued stay in office when my current tenure runs out in 2013. I am humbled by their support for me for another term.