Ebola deals a blow to Morocco's Africa plans

INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES                                                                                Dec. 2, 2014

Morocco’s refusal to host the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) from 17 January to 8 February next year, due to fears of Ebola,has sparked a furore among soccer lovers across the continent.

The North African kingdom has since become the target of some of the most aggressive xenophobia from fellow Africans, notably on social media. ‘Morocco is scared of outsiders,’ ‘Morocco is not an African country,’ are some of the insults that have been directed at the country in the wake of its decision.

... The competition has now been moved to Equatorial Guinea, co-host of the 2012 Afcon with Gabon. This decision has huge financial and political implications. Morocco has also been barred from participating in the 2015 Afcon, and risks more sanctions for its national team and Moroccan clubs.

...The proximity of Ebola-affected countries like Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone to Morocco, Rabat said, poses a serious threat to the country since spectators would travel overland and screening would be near impossible.

Critics of the decision point out that Morocco has been hosting a number of other events in recent months without any problems, and will host the football club competition in December. It also hosted Guinea’s home qualifying matches in Casablanca, which had been moved from Conakry due to fears over Ebola....

Medical specialists tend to agree that with the proper protection and scanning of visitors, there is no greater risk of Ebola entering a country during a big event than there would be otherwise...

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http://www.issafrica.org/iss-today/ebola-deals-a-blow-to-moroccos-africa-plans?utm_source=December+3+2014+EN&utm_campaign=12%2F3%2F2014&utm_medium=email