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Rabat- Amid looming ebola virus fears across the African continent, the Algerian government has reportedly urged its citizens not to go with their national team to the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), which will take place in Equatorial Guinea.
In a recent statement to local news outlets, the Algerian Minister of Youth and Sport Mohamed Tehmi said that the government ‘’will not take the risk to send its fans to the Equatorial Guinea in order to support the Desert Fennecs of Algeria.’’
Tehmi goes on to state that currently, all that matters to the Algerian Government is how to ensure the safety of its national team, which will travel to Equatorial Guinea to participate in the AFCON finals.
“In a coordination between the Algerian Ministry of Health and the Algerian Federation of Football, we seek to provide all the conditions to guarantee the safety of our national team, as well as the technical and the administrative staff that will accompany it during the AFCON finals,’’ Mohamed Tehmi explained.
The AFCON 2015 was originally set to take place in Morocco. The Moroccan Federation of Football asked Confederation of African Football (CAF) to postpone the competition until 2016 because of its fears over the Ebola outbreak elsewhere on the continent.
Last week, Morocco officially withdrew as hosts of the AFCON, after the CAF refused to postpone the event, and expressed fears that an influx of foreign fans could help spread the epidemic.
It is worth noting that as of November 4, at least 4,960 people have reportedly died from Ebola, mainly in the West African countries of Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea.
Edited by Timothy Filla
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