- United States congressman wants AFCON 2019 hosting rights stripped from Cameroon
- The championship will be staged in the summer - the first ever in the history of the competition
- Rohrabacher cited terrorists attacks as his main reason to take the tourney away from the country
Cameroon are the hosts of the 2019 African Cup of Nations championship which is billed to hold in the summer - the first ever in the history of the competition.
Although, they agreed to host 16 teams as at the time they won the right but few months to the tournament, they are now mandated to prepare for 24 teams instead of the initial number.
However, a member of Congress of the United States, Dana Tyrone Rohrabacher, is requesting world football governing body FIFA, to consider moving the 2019 Total Africa Cup of Nations from Cameroon.
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Rohrabacher, the 48th congressional Representative of California, believes that shifting the Cup away from Cameroon would be in the best interest of fans' safety and security.
Longtime Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) wears a 'Make Surfing Great Again' hat after dropping off his ballot at his polling place on November 6, 2018 in Costa Mesa, California.
In a letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantini, he highlighted that Cameroon had recently been rocked by violence and insecurity.
"My apprehension results from the level of violence and insecurity in the country, due to both the ongoing civil conflict and the continuing threat of Boko Haram," he said.
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Reports of civil conflict and Boko Haram terrorism threats are currently plaguing the Central African country. A Kenyan priest was even recently shot dead in a church in Kembong.
The congress man also referred to a report by BBC on the stability of the nation, where Amnesty International described the situation in Cameroon as "escalating violence" and a "deadly cycle of violence".
"According to BBC, Amnesty International recently described the situation in Cameroon as escalating violence and a deadly circle of violence," he added.
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Questions have been raised over Cameroon's readiness to host the tournament especially considering the political unrest facing the nation.
"The level of violence in the Southwest and Northwest Refgionscontinues to increase. In recent weeks, US citizens have been victims of violent crimes in both regions" the US Congressman said.
Hundreds have perished and thousands displaced in the last couple of months and the numbers show the situation is only getting worse.
Legit.ng recalls that Confederations of African Football President Ahmad has confirmed that Cameroon is still in line to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
Ahmad was quick to stifle rumours that had spread through social media that CAF had plans to take the continental tournament away from Cameroon.
According to BBC Sport, next year's Nations Cup is set to be the first to feature 24 teams and will be hosted in June and July rather than earlier in the year as was previously done.
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