Morocco will not host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations because of its fears over the Ebola outbreak elsewhere on the continent, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) has confirmed.
However Caf did not announce a new venue for the tournament, due to take place from 17 January to 8 February.
It said it had had “some applications of national associations confirming their desire to host the competition”.
[contextly_sidebar id=”eS6bPMx1Wj2NgTAZstnIKIdNYmQFd9fj”]Caf expelled Morocco, who would have qualified as hosts, from the finals.
Morocco had been given until Saturday to make a final decision on whether or not it would host the tournament.
It had asked to postpone the competition until 2016.
Caf’s executive committee met in Cairo on Tuesday and confirmed it had taken note of applications from other nations to host the tournament, which are currently “under review”.
It said it hoped to finalise its selection shortly.
Qualification matches for the tournament will continue as planned on 14 and 15 November to decide which 15 teams will join the new host country for the finals.
Up to 4 November, at least 4,960 people had been reported as having died from Ebola, mainly in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.
Morocco had expressed fears an influx of foreign fans could help spread the epidemic.
Credit: BBC