By John Mendy
National team Coach Sang John Ndong has expressed delight over the drastic changes to the African football’s showpiece event announced by CAF last week.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed on Thursday that the tournament will be expanded to 24 teams from 16, starting from Cameroon 2019.
In an interview with Gambia sports Online Co-Producer Modou Lamin Beyai in the first-ever CAF Symposium held in Rabat, Morocco, Sang said, “I think the idea was just superb! I’m hundred percent in support of the change….because it can help teams like The Gambia, those of us at the bottom of the table can surface and given everybody the chance to the Cup of Nations”.
“When we heard of it, we all said we gonna grab it, and it’s a good opportunity for everybody”.
CAF also confirmed that starting with the 2019 edition, the Africa Cup of Nations will move from January/February to June/July.
Asked whether he thinks it’s a good idea Sang responded, “Perfect! Perfect! Because there are teams in Europe that avoid signing African players especially when its Cup of Nations year. They won’t say it but they do it. Because when they say it, it becomes a discrimination against African players”.
“If we play Cup of Nations in June/July, it’s not bad. It’s good, for the interest of the African players and for the development of African Football”, added Sang.
The symposium focused on issues relating to the various CAF competitions, particularly its current format, periodicity and organization.
