CAF moves AFCON quarter finals to another venue

Tomiwa Babalola

The Confederations of African Football, CAF have moved this weekend's African Nations Cup quarterfinal games from these two cities, Ebebiyin and Mongomo due to concerns over the pitches.

The first quarter final game between host country, Equitorial Guinea and Tunisia, which has been scheduled to start on Saturday at the 5 000-capacity Estadio de Ebebiyín, has been shifted to Bata.

The new venue will host the two quarter final matches on Saturday, with the Equitorial Guinea and Tunisia  playing the second game after the derby between Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo.

Also, the games which are supposed to be played in Sunday's fixtures in Mongomo between the winners of Group C and runners-up in Group D, will now be played as the opening match of two at the Estadio de Malabo.

The first games will kick off at 6pm SA time with the second moved 30 minutes later than originally scheduled at 21:30pm.

CAF cited concerns that the pitches in Ebebiyin and Mongomo would struggle to hold up beyond the pool phase, especially after torrential rain in the country on Monday.

"The newly-installed pitches in Ebebiyin and Mongomo have been very satisfactory, allowing free flowing play during the group stages, and this despite having been installed only about one month ago," a CAF statement read.

"However, these two pitches have been adversely affected by a combination of wear and tear from the six games played or to be played in each of them and the unstable weather conditions seen lately.

"Consequently, the CAF Executive Committee feels that the eight teams qualified for the quarterfinal stages onwards should be given the opportunity to play on grounds that provide the highest standards, specifically those of Bata and Malabo, to ensure the quality of play remains at the highest possible level."

CAF had said it would discuss a change of venue when it became clear that hosts Equatorial Guinea would play their quarterfinal in Ebebiyin.

The recently-built stadium there is patently too small for the expected turnout as the country rides a euphoric wave after their surprise victory over their neighbours Gabon in the last group game on Sunday.

Spectators broke through fences at the opening Nations Cup game in Bata on January 17.

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