25 February 2011
The president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), Issa Hayatou, announced Friday that a decision on whether troubled Libya would still host the African Youth Championship will only be taken in a weeks time.
Libya is due to stage the 17th African Youth Championship from March 18, but the current uprising in the North African nation, which has seen hundreds killed and thousands flee for fear of their safety, has led to speculations about CAF picking an alternative country to play the perfect host to the continents Under-20s.
We are disturbed about the current state of Libya. We will meet within one week to take a decision and are hoping that peace returns to Libya, Hayatou said at a press briefing Friday in Khartoum.
The tournament must be played to determine Africas representatives for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. It is very important that the competition is organised in good conditions.
The CAF executive committee met Thursday also in Khartoum for long hours but failed to issue any statements as regards the situation in Libya.
South Africa and Ghana have been speculated as likely replacements of Libya to host the AYC, but officials of Ghana have been quick to say they will not be in a position to do so within such a short notice.
