With today marking 24 days to kickoff, CAF General Secretary, Veron Mosengo-Omba and Moumouni Sylla, Executive Director of the Local Organising Committee (COCAN) of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 addressed the media today in Abidjan on preparations for the tournament.

CAFOnline highlights interesting and topical issues raised by the CAF General Secretary during the press briefing;

Readiness of Infrastructure for the tournament 

I have visited facilities at the venues for the tournament, and can confidently say that Cote d’Ivoire is ready to host Africa and the rest of the world for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023.

CAF commends the Ivorian Government headed by His Excellency Alassane Ouattara for the massive and unprecedented investment in infrastructure for the competition. There are new Stadiums across the country in Ebimpe, Yamoussoukro, Bouake, Korhogo and San Pedro whilst Felix Houphouet Boigny has been renovated to meet international standards

Ticketing 

First the first time, CAF has online ticketing portal for fans across the world to access the ticket. There is the option of over the counter tickets for local fans. Over 30,000 tickets sales were realized from the first phase of ticket sales online for only group phase matches. The second phase opened last week for knockout stage and remaining stages of the tournament.

Television Rights and Broadcast 

The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations will be beamed across 150 countries including new territories in the Balkan region and Brazil. This development is an indication of the the huge appetite for African football from broadcasters around the world emanating from the investment by CAF under the leadership of CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe towards enhanced viewer experience. CAF is working with COCAN, partners MediaLuso and host broadcaster RTI to ensure world class viewing experience for the global audience.,

Tournament Legacy 

In terms of infrastructure, it has been a big win for Cote d’Ivoire. The Cite CAN, an accommodation project for teams in Bouake, San Pedro and Yamoussoukro similar Games Village for other international sporting competitions is a game changer. The facility is state-of-the-art and I can testify the quality of the facilities having spent a couple of nights during inspection visits.

Also, the bigger news is the allocation of 20 per cent of total revenues from the tournament to the Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) as announced by CAF President for the development of infrastructure across the West African counter. This is a first by CAF and we will work together with FIF to ensure the finances are utilized for the intended purposes.

Sponsors 

Sponsors and business entities have suddenly developed interest in partnering CAF thanks to the astute leadership of Dr Patrice Motsepe. The TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 has attracted sponsors from various sectors and industries. Few days ago, we announced new sponsors such as Ecobank and AGL. There are two major announcement to be made in the coming days.