AFCON 2019: "Moving to 24 teams was the best decision to make" (A. Ahmad, President, CAF)

"The AFCON at 24 (instead of 16 teams) was a real challenge, and on one side are the big football nations that everyone wants to see in the final. In recent times, some of them have failed to qualify, on the other hand, there are the emerging football countries, which have made enormous efforts. 24 teams was the best decision to make," said CAF President Ahmad Ahmad (MAD) in an interview with Madagascar's L'Express magazine on 25/07/2019.

Algeria won the 2019 African Cup of Nations, the first edition at 24 teams, defeating Senegal, 1-0 at the Cairo International Stadium (75,000 places) in Egypt on 19/07/2019.

"We moved the event to June, because the players were not happy to leave their respective clubs in January. All international competitions are played at the end of the season, there is no reason to persist in maintaining the AFCON in January, all confirm that this was a good decision," said the president of the African Confederation, who also mentioned his arrest by the French police in Paris (FRA) on 06/06/2019.

AFCON 2019: "$5m in local sponsorship"

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