Inspectors give CAN green light to Angola

Rumours that Angola is not ready to host the 2010 Cup of Nations (CAN) are “absolutely rubbish”, a senior African Football Confederation official said Monday after a five-day inspection of new stadiums.

“I think it’s going extremely well,” Suketu Patel, a CAF executive committee member, told AFP.

“There are a few things that need to be resolved and we brought that to the attention of the government and we are quite confident it will be a very good CAN in the end,” he said.

The CAF delegation has spent five days inspecting Angola’s four new stadiums in the host cities Luanda, Lubango, Benguela and Cabinda as well as looking at hospitals, hotels and other facilities.

Patel said rumours about Angola’s level of preparedness — which included speculation that World Cup 2010 host South Africa may step in — were “absolutely rubbish”.

He was speaking at the conclusion of a meeting between the head of the CAF delegation Mohamed Raouroua, Angolan Sports Minister Goncalves Muandumba, and Justinho Fernandes, the president of Angola’s organising committee (COCAN).

The CAF official, who is also president of the regional body Cosafa, said there had been discussions about making it easier for fans and journalists to get entry visas. The Angolan Government was working on this, he said.

The official group draw is due to take place on November 20 in Luanda.

Angola, which only ended its 27-year civil war in 2002, has spent over one billion dollars preparing its country for the football tournament, building new roads and refitting airports as well as the stadiums.