The vice president of the Equatorial Guinea Football Federation, Pedro Ondo Abeku says they are ready to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled to kick-off from 17 January to 8 February 2015.

This pronouncement comes after Equatorial Guinea was handed the hosting rights when Morocco the original hosts wanted Confederation of African Football to postpone the tournament over fears of a spread of the Ebola virus.

The continent's ruling body refused the plea and  last Tuesday stripped them of the hosting rights and kicked them out of the competition and handed it to Equatorial Guinea last Friday.

 But some critics have raised concerns about the new host, Equatorial Guinea; who were disqualified from the preliminary rounds of the competition in August for fielding an unqualified player and moreover the  country's  facilities are not up to CAF standard for hosting the tournament.

But in an exclusive interview with the Asempa Sports World Show, Pedro Ondo said the oil-rich and Spanish-speaking, co-hosted the 2012 finals with their neighbor Gabon and therefore ever ready to host the rest of Africa.

“People who are saying we are not ready should visit the country and see things for themselves so I will urge everyone to debunk such a story”.

“It is not fair to hear people say that Equatorial Guinea don’t have  enough stadium to host this competition because most of these people have not been in Guinea to see how we have improved in terms our development concerning sports”.

“We have two new big stadia in Ebebiyin and Mongomo and also two other stadia in Malabo and Bata which we used in last two years.”
The draw for the finals will take place on Wednesday, 3rd December, 2014 in Malabo, the capital city of Equatorial Guinea.

Meanwhile, the African Union (AU) Commission chairperson, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, has commended the Government of Equatorial Guinea for accepting to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
Dr Zuma said Equatorial Guinea’s gesture is a strong show of African Solidarity.

“The Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone should not paralyze continental programs and events. Like many other challenges the continent has faced in the past, the Ebola outbreak is being surmounted and is by no means a reason to stall the African Cup of Nations,” Dr. Zuma said after receiving the announcement of Equatorial Guinea to host the competition.