AWCON 2020: CAF’s Isha Johanssen explains reasons for the cancellation

The chairperson of the CAF organizing committee for women’s football Isha Johanssen has explained the reasons for the cancellation of the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.

Speaking to outlet soka25east Isha Johanssen said“For the 2020 AWCON, there were circumstances beyond our control which made it difficult for CAF to organize it and all options were explored but no avail,”

"We did not have an option other than to cancel for three main reasons. Firstly, the withdrawal of Congo meant that we find a new host. For that, the bid was reopened. Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea expressed interest. However, both lacked the most important support documents which were the letter of support from their respective governments,” she added.

“If we cannot get a letter of support from your government to host a tournament, it becomes quite complex and problematic in the long run because we cannot organize the competition without the support or guarantee from the host country coming from the government," she continued.

The chairperson of the CAF organizing committee for women’s football also explained that the Coronavirus pandemic did not help as football on the continent has been suspended since March.

"The outbreak of COVID-19 which has led to the suspension of all football activities around the continent and indeed the rest of the world. Due to the fact that the qualifiers initially scheduled for April 2020 had to be postponed indefinitely,” she concluded.