ZURICH: The Club World Cup will go ahead as scheduled in Morocco in December, FIFA has said, despite the country’s reluctance to host the finals of the African Nations Cup in January and February because of the ebola crisis.

The Moroccan health and football authorities have suggested that the African confederation postpone the finals until June but this idea has been resisted thus far by CAF.

Moroccan concerns were based only on concerns about an infection risk from fans travelling from other regions of west Africa, a consideration not applied to the world federation’s annual club championship.

The world federation confirmed the Club Cup staging in a statement setting out guidelines for all federations and leagues concerning ebola.

FIFA statement:

·       FIFA supports the decision by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to organise the international matches of the countries currently experiencing EVD intense transmission (Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea) on neutral ground.

·       FIFA recommends that on the occasion of international matches, the pre-match training/meeting days of teams from the aforementioned three high-risk countries should also take place on neutral ground.

·       Ahead of international matches, in order to detect and contain any possible infections, FIFA recommends that any athlete and member of the entourage which displays symptoms consistent with Ebola and that has history of travel to the countries experiencing intense transmission be immediately isolated and tested for Ebola.

·       Ahead of international matches FIFA recommends that players and members of the entourage from countries experiencing intense transmission conduct self-monitoring, including daily temperature control, for symptoms consistent with Ebola Virus Disease.

·       Ahead of international matches involving one of the three high-risk countries, FIFA recommends that fans of the respective teams are made aware of Ebola prevention measures.

·       After an international fixture involving a high-risk country, it is advised that clubs carry out a medical check-up of their returning players (both from the high risk countries and the teams that faced them) in order to avoid further concerns.

·       FIFA recommends that all teams cooperate with national authorities for the detection and control of Ebola.

·       In case of doubt, clubs should contact FIFA’s Medical Department for advice. Any queries made as the situation develops will be dealt on a case by case basis.

·       Further information can be found on the WHO web page, particularly the statement on Ebola.

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