Former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, has reacted after Nigeria lost its bid to host the African Cup of Nations in 2027.
This comes after Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, arrived in Egypt on Tuesday, with representatives of the Nigeria Football Federation to bid to host AFCON in 2027.
OsunDailyNG earlier reported that the African football governing body on Wednesday, September 27, announced that northern African giants, Morocco have been named the 2025 AFCON hosts.
Recall that AFCON 2025 was supposed to be hosted by Guinea, but they lost the hosting rights in October 2022 due to poor infrastructural development.
Initially, Morocco faced stiff competition from a joint Nigeria-Benin bid and a bid from Zambia for the 2025 AFCON but the countries voluntarily withdrew for Morocco before the voting commenced in Cairo, Egypt, earlier today.
The rival countries decided to withdraw due to their desire to see an African country host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which Morocco is bidding for alongside Spain and Portugal. They believe Morocco would use the 2025 edition of AFCON to further prove to the world that they can co-host the 2030 World Cup.
In a post via X, Bashir Ahmad said it was disappointing that Nigeria missed out, noting the country has a strong football tradition and a dedicated fan base that was looking forward to the possibility of hosting the tournament.
He wrote: “While congratulating Morocco for winning the bid to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, it’s a bit disappointing that Nigeria couldn’t secure the hosting rights for the AFCON 2027. Nigeria has a strong football tradition and a dedicated fan base that was eagerly looking forward to the possibility of hosting this tournament.
“Congratulations to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda on the successful bid to host the tournament in 2027.”
