African football chief Issa Hayatou blamed “a lack of
infrastructure” for the 16-team Africa Cup of Nations tournament failing to
mirror the expansion of the European Championship, he told RFI on Friday.
“If there was no handicap originating from infrastructure we
would have gone to 24 teams,” said Hayatou, the long-serving president of the
Confederation of African Football. “There is no reason why it’s not done, but
we are realistic.
“Lots of countries can’t accommodate a CAN with more than 16
teams. Europe does it because it has lots of stadiums. In Africa, when I was
elected in 1988, it was eight, then 12 in 1992 and 16 in 1996.
This year’s European Championship in France featured 24
teams for the first time, while FIFA president Gianni Infantino told AFP this
week of his desire to increase the 2026 World Cup to 48 countries.
Next year’s Africa Cup of Nations will be held from January
14-February 5 in Gabon, a nation recently hit by violence triggered by disputed
elections.
Consequently, Hayatou said the Omar Bongo stadium in the
capital Libreville may not be ready in time to host to opening game, or indeed
the final, after work on the venue was delayed in the wake of the deadly
unrest.
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