Nigeria And Benin Submit Joint Bid To Co-Host 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

Nigeria and Benin have officially submitted a joint bid to co-host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2025.

Guinea was initially scheduled to host the biennial competition but withdrew due to a lack of funds and facilities, Vanguard News reported.

Sunday Dare, Nigeria's Minister of Sports, has been coordinating the proposal as the country joins Algeria, Zambia, and Morocco in their quest to secure hosting rights of the tournament.

"Having completed all the processes, we submitted our bid before the Confederation of African Football (CAF) deadline of 16 December," a Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) official told BBC.

"The NFF will be sharing more information on the bid to stage the tournament in the coming weeks," he added.

The CAF inspection team is scheduled to visit all potential host countries between Jan. 5-25 to assess their facilities and infrastructure. Decisions regarding the final location of the competition will be made on Feb. 10, 2023.

It is worth noting that Nigeria, a three-time champion, co-hosted the 2000 AFCON finals with Ghana. Before this, the country hosted the 1980 AFCON, defeating Algeria in the final. The next edition of the competition is set to be hosted by Ivory Coast, although it has been pushed back from 2023 to 2024 due to unforeseen circumstances.

Nigeria has struggled to find a decent stadium to host the national team and has relied on Uyo, which hosted the 2021-2022 Caf Confederation Cup final, and Moshood Abiola stadium in Abuja. The Lagos National Stadium is currently closed for renovations.

On the other hand, Benin, which has never hosted a major continental final, has two notable stadiums, including I'Amitie Stadium, which can accommodate 20,000 fans, and Porto-Novo Stadium, which can host 13,000 supporters. However, both of these stadiums may not be up to par in comparison to other stadiums that have hosted major continental finals.

The CAF has set a minimum requirement of six stadiums for any nation wishing to host the Africa Cup of Nations. Two of those stadiums must have a capacity of at least 40,000 fans, while the remaining four must have a capacity of at least 20,000.

The CAF reopened the bid for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in October after removing Guinea due to a lack of necessary infrastructure and facilities to host the 24-team tournament. "The 2025 Nations Cup allocated to Guinea will not take place there because we're not yet ready in Guinea," CAF president Patrice Motsepe said in a news conference.