Seven months before AFCON 2023, doubts over the Laurent Pokou stadium

Another inspection tour of the sports facilities selected for the AFCON 2023 ended on Wednesday 3 May 2023 in the city of San Pedro. Starting on 27 April this year, the tour, led by Idriss Diallo, took in the Stade Felix Houphouët-Boigny and the Stade Alassane Ouattara in Ebimpe, in Abidjan and its suburbs. The delegation, which includes CAF's project leads, also visited the pitches that will serve as training bases during the tournament. The cities of Yamoussoukro, Bouaké and Korhogo were also visited by the Cocan. San Pedro, the final site, brought the Cocan's broadly satisfactory inspection to a close, although a major delay at San Pedro could yet dampen the mood.

An entire stand to rebuild at the Stade Laurent Pokou?

Seven months before AFCON, a major problem has arisen at the Stade Laurent Pokou in San Pedro. The Confederation of African Football has asked for the press box, which logically looks onto the media centre (press area), to be moved entirely. According to information in our possession, it is very poorly positioned. The CAF is demanding separation barriers from the ordinary stands. A real headache, given that the facilities were due to be handed over at the end of April but that has been pushed back to June 2023. Will the new date be achievable, as the sporting and political authorities have said it will be?

"If we do what CAF is asking, it will be very hard to finish this stadium. We don't say it publicly, but the teams have been working flat out for years. We are close to the finish now, and there is a whole section to knock down and rebuild if we want to do the job properly. As a technician, I can assure you this will delay the handover, but the politicians have spoken... We'll see," an expert in construction and public works at the Bureau national d'études techniques et développement (Bnetd), the body that oversees the works at the various sites, told Sport News Africa (SNA). He asked not to be named, given how sensitive everything connected with AFCON 2023 currently is.

Seven months out from the event, it is hard to be objective about the facilities without incurring the wrath of the authorities. The watchword is optimism, and the members of the Cocan and the ONS are playing that card for all it is worth.

"We will see how to do all this quickly"

Reached by SNA this afternoon, 4 May 2023, the director of the national sports office, one of the key figures overseeing the works, shed some light on CAF's recommendations. "Yes, CAF has asked for the media area to be relocated or adjusted, if you want to put it that way. It is right in the middle of the stadium and CAF wants it moved further to the side. But that does not mean we have to tear everything down," said Mrs Yoda Mariam, before expressing some surprise at CAF's rather late reaction.

"We carried out all the work to CAF's specifications. Everything was followed to the letter. So we don't understand why, today, when we are up against the clock with seven months left, we are being told to change the location of an area. But we will see how to do all this quickly, because AFCON is CAF's competition and everything has to be respected," she said reassuringly, though not without acknowledging a slight constraint. "It will all get done, but we need to see whether it requires extra budget," said the former international handball player, voicing her concern.

Last-minute reports indicate that the Ivorian authorities have been informed of the new upgrade required at the Stade Laurent Pokou in San Pedro. They are expected to agree new, not-too-long timeframes with CAF. Better still, a special CAF mission is arriving in Abidjan in the coming days to see how to plug the gaps. The national sports office will also be on site from this Friday, 5 May 2023, along with a Bnetd delegation. Côte d'Ivoire is still racing against the clock, seven months from AFCON 2023, which has been postponed to January 2024.

Sanh Séverin