Envoy Gives Update On Ivory Coast’s Readiness To Host 2023 AFCON

The Ivory Coast’s ambassador to Nigeria, Kalilou Traore, has reaffirmed that his country is prepared to host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on January 13, 2024.

Ahead of the 2023 AFCON, the ambassador held a press conference in Abuja to brief the media about the readiness of the country for the tournament.

During the interview, the envoy claimed that his country has taken all the necessary steps to guarantee a flawless 2023 AFCON.

Traore noted that to guarantee successful competition, mobilization has taken the form of fiscal policy changes and infrastructure upgrades.

He said that the Côte d’Ivoire government had supplied all the facilities needed to raise the teams’ performance, assuring the participating football federations that Ivory Coast and CAF were cooperating to ensure the success of the tournament.

Traore said, “To achieve the desired goals, the Ivorian government is working closely with the Confederation of African Football.

“This will be one of the biggest events for Africa and you can imagine that all the entire Côte Ivorian people are mobilized to make it a very great event.

“This is starting from the Head of State, President Alassane Ouattara, and the Prime Minister, who right now is the Minister of Sports and is particularly in charge of the organization of this tournament.

“Beyond the government, the population has been mobilized. The tourism sector has been mobilized, and the security and the building sector have built many stadiums that will host different matches.

“So, all the sectors in Côte d’Ivoire have been mobilized and they are almost ready.

“Now, they are fine-tuning all the little little things, so that they will be ready before the official opening on January 13.”