At the close of nomination in May only Botswana, Egypt, Algeria and a joint effort from Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda had been submitted.
Egypt later pulled out. However, when the bid committee travelled to Abidjan to try and convince delegates during the CAF Ordinary General Assembly last month, they learnt that a joint bid from Nigeria and Benin and a solo effort from Senegal had been added to the list. Mamelodi said they tried to inquire but did not get immediate answers from CAF.
“We discovered something when we were in Abidjan that the competition has increased. We did not get answers why, but we didn’t ask too much because sometimes when you become too forceful, it doesn’t sit well with you,” Mamelodi said. “We thought we only had Algeria and the three others from East Africa, but we were told Benin and Nigeria are in the race as well as Senegal and Algeria of course,” he added. He said, together with Botswana Football Association (BFA) CEO, Mfolo Mfolo they inquired from a CAF employee. “He (CAF official) smiled a bit and said that is the position.
I don’t think we want to push this hard. We don’t want to annoy anybody,” Mamelodi said. The Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture director of sport, Moreetsi Bogosi said there is a need for Botswana to understand the CAF rules and regulations on the matter before taking it up.
“I think we need to give it more thought. CAF will not do that if it’s wrong. We need to understand the rights and powers of the CAF executive. I believe Rre Motsepe (Patrice, CAF president) has been advised legally to say, yes you can do this.
I don’t think publicly they can want to embarrass themselves,” Bogosi said. “I believe it's us who should inform ourselves about the CAF constitution so that if we were to seek clarity, we really understand that they do have the powers and liberty to do what they have done,” he added. Despite the increased competition, Mamelodi is confident with the work Botswana has done thus far and said the best selling point is the bid book. “They were very, very impressed with our bid book. Our case is compelling,” he said.
