Ivory Coast international Ghislain Konan says it is an “enormous pride” for his country to host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and believes that visitors will receive the warmest of welcomes next month.
The tournament kicks off on 13 January, with the opening game and the final on 11 February taking place in the country’s financial hub Abidjan.
“I can tell you that it will go very well,” Konan, who plays his club football in Saudi Arabia, told BBC Sport Africa.
“We are a country of hospitality and one that welcomes others. As we like to say back home, we like foreigners more than we like ourselves.
“We will truly welcome the visitors who’ll come to our home and also show them that we are a great country.”
Konan, who was born in Abidjan, was speaking a few days after the Ivorian government said it will be using some of its 20,000 volunteers to help fill stadiums during Nations Cup matches.
The tournament, which was moved from June-July of this year to January 2024 to avoid Ivory Coast’s rainy season, will be staged in five different cities.
Abidjan is the only city that will use two stadiums – with the newly-built Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium hosting the opening match and final – while Bouake, San Pedro, Korhogo and the capital Yamoussoukro will also host games.
The stadiums in the latter three cities all have a capacity of 20,000, with Abidjan’s Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium and the Bouake arena able to accommodate 40,000 and the Alassane Ouattara 60,000.
Yet the 23 teams trying to ensure the trophy leaves Ivory Coast, including defending champions Senegal, may find more support from the locals than they expected.
“Among the 20,000 volunteers we have, it is expected that a portion will support non-Ivorian teams – which is a first,” Toure Nimba, a sports ministry official, claimed on Friday.
“Every time a non-Ivorian team plays in the competition, you will have Ivorians supporting those teams. The organising committee is also arranging that school children will move en masse to stadiums during matches.
“We have local committees reaching out to the smallest hamlets, and it is the combination of all these efforts that will allow us to have full stadiums.”
In the past, poor attendances have been a feature of many Nations Cup matches which do not feature the host country.
However, Cameroon, which hosted the 2021 edition, bucked that trend and organisers hope Ivory Coast can do similarly. (BBC)
