Egypt FA in U-turn over 2019 Africa Cup of Nations bid

Egypt FA president Hany Abo Rida has made a U-turn over bidding to host the 2019 Nations Cup

The Egypt Football Association (EFA) has said that it is interested in bidding to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations despite previous comments.

Just eight days ago, the EFA ruled itself out of stepping into replace Cameroon as hosts.

This latest development follows a meeting between EFA president Hany Abo Rida and his Confederation of African Football (Caf) counterpart Ahmad.

"We're preparing a file to send to Caf and we're waiting for formal approval from the government," EFA's Ahmed Megahed told reporters.

Caf is seeking a replacement for Cameroon, which was stripped of hosting rights last month due to poor preparations.

Megahed said Egypt is better placed than anyone else on the continent to host the tournament next June.

"We have good facilities (and) none of the other African countries can be ready in this short time," he explained.

"We have stadiums in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez, Port Said."

On Wednesday, Morocco's government announced that it will not formally bid to host the finals.

Interested parties have until 2200 GMT on Friday to make an official bid for the 2019 tournament which will be the first to feature 24 teams, rather than 16, and be held in June/July, as opposed to its traditional January/February slot.