Angola on Wednesday pulled out of the running to replace Morocco as hosts of the troubled 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
The oil-rich state was considered one of the front-runners to step in to stage the continental showcase after Morocco were stripped of the right to host it.
The north African country, who were also expelled from the 2015 competition, fell foul of organisers CAF for calling for a postponement citing the deadly Ebola epidemic.
Angola’s insistence that they were not interested in hosting a competition they staged in 2010 came from Joao Lusevikueno, vice president of the Angolan football federation.
He told AFP by telephone from Luanda: “Angola is not going to host the competition, we haven’t presented our candidature and it is not our intention to do so.”
He added: “The country’s 2015 budget, which has to be voted on on Thursday, does not facilitate any possibility in this matter.”
He added that to step in and organise a competition of this scale in two months — it is due to start on January 17 — was “virtually impossible”.
Angola’s staging of the 2010 Nations Cup was marred by the attack on the Togo team bus by separatists in the restless enclave of Cabinda which killed two people.
With Angola out of the picture the countries thought to be still in contention for taking over from Morocco as 2015 hosts are multiple African champions Egypt, Gabon, which co-hosted the 2012 edition with Equatorial Guinea, and reigning champions Nigeria.
Organisers the Confederation of African Football are due to announce the next hosts “in two or three days” the CAF president Issa Hayatou told France24 television on Wednesday.
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