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Conakry (AFP) – Guinea’s ruling junta has told a Confederation of African Football mission that it will meet the timetable for staging the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN).
CAF has sent a team to the impoverished and volatile West African state to assess its progress for hosting the tournament.
Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who appointed himself president after taking power in a coup in September 2021, met with the scrutineers on Wednesday.
“They came with a message, and this message was, ‘Is 2025 feasible for us (Guineans) or not?’, Sports Minister Lansana Bea Diallo said.
The CAF team held out the possibility of postponing CAN 2025 until 2026 or 2027, he said.
“The president was straightforward — ‘We made this a national priority, and the national priority is for 2025, we won’t go for 2026 or 2027, we will organise it in 2025’,” the minister was quoted on state TV late Wednesday as saying.
“And that’s the word of the head of state which has been given today,” he said.
Hosting Africa’s biggest sporting event is a major challenge for Guinea, which suffers a chronic lack of sporting and transport infrastructure.
The country also has a long history of political turbulence.&nbsp;
Last year’s coup saw the ouster of octogenarian president Alpha Conde after bloody protests over his bid for a third term in office.
The takeover has stirred frictions with the influential West African bloc ECOWAS, which has been pushing for an early return to civilian rule.
On the eve of the CAF visit, Doumbouya issued a decree declaring the 2025 competition an issue of “national and priority interest.”
All spending for organisational needs “will be processed as a matter of urgency,” and procedures will be fast-tracked to allocate land needed for the tournament.
In March, Doumbouya named a fresh organising committee after one of its members publicly doubted whether it was feasible to host the tournament in 2025.
The CAF mission appears to have been encouraged by the visit.
“Today we are really reassured by Guinea’s preparedness,” said one of its members, Benin’s Mathurin de Chacus.
Doumbouya “spoke like a soldier — he’s determined to organise CAN for the Guinean public,” he said in remarks broadcast on television.
The delegation will brief CAF on the outcome of its mission, he said.
Guinea was originally scheduled to stage CAN in 2023, but this was pushed back by two years when the list of organising nations was reshuffled in 2018.
The 2023 event will be hosted by Ivory Coast.

Guinea junta stands by timetable for 2025 Africa Cup - World Soccer Talk

Guinea junta stands by timetable for 2025 Africa Cup

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Conakry (AFP) – Guinea’s military junta has vowed to free up funds and has given fast-track access to land for the country’s staging of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
The announcement late Monday came on the eve of a two-day mission by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to monitor Guinea’s progress on hosting the big event.
A decree by junta chief Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, read on state TV, declared the event an issue of “national and priority interest.”
All spending for organisational needs “will be processed as a matter of urgency,” it said.
It also declared that land needed for the tournament will fall into the category of public interest, and any property transactions or work not related to the competition will be banned on these sites.
Hosting Africa’s biggest sporting event is a major challenge for the impoverished country, which lacks sporting infrastructure and transport.
Guinea was originally scheduled to stage the competition in 2023, but this was pushed back by two years when the list of organising nations was reshuffled in 2018.
The 2023 event will be hosted by Ivory Coast.
Doumbouya led a coup last September that toppled the country’s elected president, Alpha Conde.
The takeover has stirred frictions with the influential West African bloc ECOWAS, which has been pushing for an early return to civilian rule.
However, the junta says it will stick by the country’s commitment to hosting the 2025 cup.
In March, Doumbouya named a fresh organising committee after one of its members publicly doubted whether the scheme was feasible.

Guinea junta declares hosting Africa Cup a 'priority' - World Soccer Talk

Guinea junta declares hosting Africa Cup a 'priority'

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Clermont-Ferrand (France) (AFP) – Clermont’s Guinea striker Mohamed Bayo will appear before a criminal court in June for “driving under the influence of alcohol”, the French city’s public prosecutor said on Monday.
Bayo, 23, was detained by police on Sunday after a traffic accident in Clermont but was released on Monday.
He failed to stop after the incident with another car which had two passengers, who suffered minor injuries.
“At the moment of the accident, I panicked, I was scared of the consequences,” Bayo posted on Twitter.
“Far from being clear-headed, originally I left the location but I wanted to help the victims and go back to take responsibility.
“I want to, from the bottom of my heart, present my sincere apologies to those injured, their families and those close to them.
“I note the decision that will be taken and I’m aware of the seriousness of my acts,” he added.
On June 28, he will also appear in court for “involuntary injuries which have caused a temporary professional absence of less than three months,” the central city’s public prosecutor Eric Maillaud said.
Bayo, who made the last of his five international appearances earlier this month, scored his sixth goal of the season in Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Nantes.

Guinea forward Bayo to appear in court for drunk driving - World Soccer Talk

Guinea forward Bayo to appear in court for drunk driving

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Paris (AFP) – Liverpool said Monday midfielder Naby Keita was “safe and well” after he and his Guinea teammates were blocked in their home country by an apparent military coup.
The 26-year-old was on international duty for a World Cup qualifier in his homeland when a group of soldiers detained 83-year-old president Alpha Conde.&nbsp;
After hours of gunfire and unrest, Guinea’s World Cup qualifier against Morocco on Monday was postponed.
A Liverpool spokesman said the club was in “constant contact” with Keita and had had “regular communication” with the management of his national team.
“We are satisfied that he is safe and well cared for,” the spokesman told Britain’s PA news agency.
Five of the Guinea squad play in France — Issiaga Sylla of Toulouse, Florentin Pogba of Sochaux, Abdoulaye Sylla (Nantes), Saidou Sow (Saint-Etienne) and Clermont forward Mohamed Bayo.
A source at one of the French clubs, who asked not to identified, told AFP that clubs in Europe were working to arrange a private jet to bring back the players “as soon as possble”.
Morocco’s squad were able to fly out of Guinea on Sunday.

Liverpool's Keita 'safe and well' after coup strands him in Guinea - World Soccer Talk

Liverpool's Keita 'safe and well' after coup strands him in Guinea

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Conakry (AFP) – Guinea have appointed their caretaker coach Mohamed Kanfory Bangoura on a permanent basis and charged him with qualifying them for their first World Cup.
Bangoura, known commonly as Lappe Bangoura, was chosen ahead of highly-rated Belgian coach Paul Put and German journeyman Gernot Rohr.
Since Luis Fernandez quit the post in May Guinea negotiated a second World Cup 2018 qualifying round for one of the five African qualifying spots for Russia 2018.
They have been drawn alongside Tunisia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Libya in a final round robin qualifying group where the group winner qualifies for the World Cup finals.
Also on the agenda is a final qualifying match with Zimbabwe at Conakry on September 4 for a place in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon next January.
Guinea central defender and Saint Etienne player Florentin Pogba, the elder brother of France star Paul Pogba, is the Guinea national team captain.&nbsp;

Bangoura gets Guinea job and World Cup target - World Soccer Talk

Bangoura gets Guinea job and World Cup target

<div id="attachment_162406" style="width: 610px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/eab7242c17f1199ce8660f8add6e9b10ffb4892b.jpg"><div><figure class="image"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-162406" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-162406" src="https:\/\/ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https:\/\/images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20160119_WST_162405_eab7242c17f1199ce8660f8add6e9b10ffb4892b-600x383.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=383" alt="Photo credit: AFP." width="600" height="383" srcset="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/01/eab7242c17f1199ce8660f8add6e9b10ffb4892b-600x383.jpg 600w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/01/eab7242c17f1199ce8660f8add6e9b10ffb4892b-150x96.jpg 150w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/01/eab7242c17f1199ce8660f8add6e9b10ffb4892b-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2016/01/eab7242c17f1199ce8660f8add6e9b10ffb4892b.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure></div></a>Photo credit: AFP.</div>
Second half substitute Chisom Chikatara inspired Nigeria to a crushing 4-1 win over Niger in their African Nations Championships opening match at Kigali’s Nyamirambo stadium on Monday. The Abia Warriors star grabbed a hat-trick late in the second half to give Nigeria bragging rights over their West African neighbors.
After a barren first half, Nigeria turned on the heat when winger Osas Okoro put them ahead a minute into the second half. Okoro had a role in the second when his long ball deep in the Niger area found Chikatara, who controlled the ball on his chest before firing home his first after 74th minutes. Zakaria Adebayor pulled one back for Niger in the 81st minute.
SEE MORE: <a href="https:\/\/worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/2016/01/17/dr-congo-stun-ethiopia-cameroon-pip-angola-in-african-nations-championship/">DR Congo stun Ethiopia; Cameroon pip Angola.</a>
Earlier, debutants Guinea twice came from behind to earn a deserved 2-2 draw with Tunisia, in a match two opposing strikers each grabbed a brace.
Tunisia drew the first blood through Ahmed Akaichi in the 33rd minute when the Etoile du Sahel dangerman flicked home a right cross from Hamza Mathlouthi. Seven minutes later Alseny Camara Agogo punished a sloppy Tunisia defence, tapping home a Ibrahim Bangoura’s low cross from the left flank. Tunisia reclaimed their lead in the 51 minute when Akaichi scored his second on the counter attack, but Agogo came back to level after 83 minutes to cap an evenly contested encounter.
Group D matches get underway on Tuesday at the Umuganda stadium in Gisenyi, where neighbours Zambia and Zimbabwe meet in the first match before Mali take on Cecafa champions Uganda.