CAF announces AFCON venue switches

Two quarter-final ties in the Africa Cup of Nations have been relocated to Bata and Malabo, tournament organisers have confirmed.

All Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final ties will take place in Bata and Malabo after tournament officials confirmed two venue switches on Tuesday.

Originally the last-eight showdown between Tunisia and hosts Equatorial Guinea was scheduled to take place in Ebebiyin on Saturday.

However, that encounter will now take place in Bata after the Confederation of African Football’s (CAF) Executive Committee stated that the pitch in Ebebiyin – which had only been laid recently – has been affected by hosting group stage games and adverse weather conditions.

Similar problems occurred in Mongomo where a quarter-final match was originally slated to take place on Sunday, but that will now be held in the capital Malabo.

A statement from CAF read: “The CAF Executive Committee agreed to relocate AFCON 2015 quarter-final matches 26 and 27 respectively to Bata and Malabo. 

“Initially, quarter-final match 26 was scheduled in Ebebiyin on January 31, this match will now be played in Bata stadium the same day.

“Similarly, the quarter-final match 27 that was scheduled in Mongomo on February 1 will be played in Malabo stadium the same day.

“The newly installed pitches in Ebebiyin and Mongomo have been very satisfactory, allowing free-flowing play during the group stages, and this despite having been installed only about one month ago.

“However, these two pitches have been adversely affected by a combination of wear and tear from the six games played or to be played in each of them and the unstable weather conditions seen lately.

“Consequently, the CAF Executive Committee feels that the eight teams qualified for the quarter-final stages onwards should be given the opportunity to play on grounds that provide the highest standards, specifically those of Bata and Malabo, to ensure the quality of play remains at the highest possible level.” 

Bata Stadium now hosts the quarter-final ties between Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tunisia and Equatorial Guinea back-to-back on Saturday.

Estadio De Malabo also has consecutive matches on Sunday, with the winners of Group C playing the runners-up of Group D and vice-versa.