The African Football Confederation (CAF) has rejected Morocco's request to postpone the 2015 Nations Cup finals due to the Ebola outbreak.
The Moroccan local organising committee last month asked CAF to delay the tournament, which is due to be held between Jan. 17 and Feb. 8 next year, to avoid the risk of Ebola spreading from west Africa where it still rages in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
However, CAF's Media Director, Junior Binyam, announced that a meeting between the body's president, Issa Hayatou, and local organisers in Algiers on Monday following Saturday's African Champions League final had led to them deciding to maintain the tournament's original schedule.
A CAF press release stated that a further meeting would be held in Cairo on Nov. 11 to "take the necessary decisions," and stated the "health precautions put in place in Morocco, whose effectiveness has been proven, are more than capable of dealing with the very limited influx" of supporters from affected areas.
IMAGES: Algiers CAF ExCo meeting. Next meeting Cairo, Egypt 11 Nov. 2014. #AFCON 2015 to be held from 17 Jan - 8 Feb pic.twitter.com/AyjKjtEZFt
- CAF MEDIA (@CAF_Media) November 3, 2014
Local organisers, who have been asked to clarify their position by Nov. 8, have yet to comment, but there is speculation they may decline the opportunity to stage the tournament.
Previously affected by the virus, Senegal -- whose team are in contention to qualify -- was declared Ebola-free on Oct. 17, while Nigeria -- the reigning African champions and struggling to qualify -- was given the same status by the World Health Organisation three days later.
UEFA president Michel Platini hit back in a row with CAF in October after it was alleged he called for the postponement of the tournament due to the Ebola outbreak.