Morocco have been confirmed as the new host of the 2018 Total African Nations Championship, beating off competition from Equatorial Guinea and Ethiopia.
This is after the emergency committee of the Confederation of African Football, chaired by president Ahmad Ahmad, met on 14 October 2017 in Lagos, Nigeria, and unanimously decided to grant the organization of the 5th edition of the tournament to the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
Morocco had been a candidate following the withdrawal of the organization of the competition to Kenya, which was decided in Accra, Ghana, by the CAF Executive Committee.
The candidacy of Morocco was preferred to that of Equatorial Guinea, another country to have submitted a valid application.
The Ethiopian Football Federation, which had also expressed its willingness to host the tournament, did not provide the government’s letter of guarantee, which is a mandatory document required by the rules of application of the Statutes of the Caf.
The Total CHAN, Morocco 2018, scheduled for 12 January to 4 February 2018, will bring together 16 national teams composed exclusively of players playing in the national championships of their respective countries.
And with Morocco now getting an automatic slot, Egypt who were eliminated by Morocco in the qualifiers will take the qualifying slot.
The Black Stars B failed to qualify, suffering a shock elimination at the hands of Burkina Faso.