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Johannesburg - The 2013 AFCON LOC’s CEO, Mvuzo Mbebe, has explained the reason why Cape Town was not selected to host any fixtures for next year’s continental show piece was due to the fact that the city did not meet the criteria used to select the host cities.
Mbebe said that all the host cities presented their bids on March 26 at SAFA House to an LOC Panel comprising of the LOC evaluation panel and the LOC management team, and that the host cities where presented with the unsigned host city agreement on March 20.
"The final selection of the host cities was conducted by an independent law firm without the influence of the LOC or SAFA. The cities were given points according to the needs in the criteria for final selection which included demonstrating ability to fill stadiums, especially football games.
Structure of events, cost, legacy benefits, accessibility, linking 2013 and 2014, government strategic requirements and current infrastructure.
“You have to know that the optimal number of host cities is five and Cape Town came out number six. Number one was eThekwini followed by Nelson Mandela Bay, then Rustenburg and Mbombela, in that order.
There is no bad blood that saw Cape Town ruled out, as we just followed the criteria for all the cities," Mbebe said.
He added that Johannesburg will not host only two games, despite reports suggesting so, as the tournament structure is yet to be finalised.
"We had to tell CAF where the opening and closing games will be played, as per their requirements, but that does not mean Soccer City will only host two games. We still have too see how many more games can be played here," Mbebe concluded.
Mbebe said that all the host cities presented their bids on March 26 at SAFA House to an LOC Panel comprising of the LOC evaluation panel and the LOC management team, and that the host cities where presented with the unsigned host city agreement on March 20.
"The final selection of the host cities was conducted by an independent law firm without the influence of the LOC or SAFA. The cities were given points according to the needs in the criteria for final selection which included demonstrating ability to fill stadiums, especially football games.
Structure of events, cost, legacy benefits, accessibility, linking 2013 and 2014, government strategic requirements and current infrastructure.
“You have to know that the optimal number of host cities is five and Cape Town came out number six. Number one was eThekwini followed by Nelson Mandela Bay, then Rustenburg and Mbombela, in that order.
There is no bad blood that saw Cape Town ruled out, as we just followed the criteria for all the cities," Mbebe said.
He added that Johannesburg will not host only two games, despite reports suggesting so, as the tournament structure is yet to be finalised.
"We had to tell CAF where the opening and closing games will be played, as per their requirements, but that does not mean Soccer City will only host two games. We still have too see how many more games can be played here," Mbebe concluded.
