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Deputy Communications Minister, Ato Sarpong, says the cost of hosting the AFCON 2017 tournament wasn’t too high in government's view. He said the costing had been done and the government didn’t find the figure too high to dissuade it from bidding for the hosting rights of the 2017 edition of the African Cup of Nations. Mr. Sarpong was speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show a day after the CAF Executive Committee selected Gabon ahead of Ghana and Algeria as hosts of the next AFCON. Some Ghanaians are rejoicing because they believe the country’s economy and its finances are in such disarray that it cannot afford ostentatious ventures as sponsoring a football tournament. For them, the decision of CAF not to award the hosting rights to Ghana is a blessing. Ghana can save some money and government can concentrate on solving the economic and power challenges, they maintain. But the Deputy Communications Minister believes the cost wasn't that high. “For us as a government, we looked at certain parameters; the critical fundamentals required for hosting a tournament like this is basically infrastructure,” he said. The Deputy Minister explained that having hosted the 2008 edition of the tournament, Ghana has in place the key infrastructure in terms of stadia. There wouldn’t have been the need to spend huge sums of money to build new stadia, even though the existing ones in Accra, Kumasi, Sekondi and Tamale would require some renovation, he pointed out. Even though he didn’t have the figures readily available, Mr. Sarpong said the cost wasn’t too high.
Credit: Myjoyonline.com
