Friday was supposed to be decision day on the new hosts of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals but the Confederation of African Football (CAF) have not only changed the goalposts but also the playing field.

They had initially said the CAF executive committee would make its choice on February 10, but CAF president Patrice Motsepe has backtracked on that and delayed what is likely to be a very controversial choice.

“There is no date. There was a proposal to study the decision on February 10. It was only a proposal, but media announced that it was the official date. This is not correct,” said Motsepe.

“We have to take the time and make sure we are going to make the right decision. We will not make any announcements on February 10. We will make an announcement at the appropriate time, after respecting our processes to make sure the best country is selected”

In reality Motsepe and his colleague have a tough choice to make between Algeria and Morocco — bitter political rivals in the north African region with long term enmity, heighted recently by Morocco’s refusal to compete in the African Nations Championship in Algeria.

There are two other candidates – a co-hosting bid from Benin and Nigeria and then one from Zambia but it is one of the two north African countries that is favoured to get the nod to replace Guinea, who were striped of the right to host the event last year.

“The decision will be made ethically and independently. There is a lot of lobbying like everywhere, but the one thing we will never tolerate at CAF is breaking our rules. We want to banish conflicts of interest,” says Motsepe.

“We want decisions to be made impartially taking into account stadiums, hotels, roads, air traffic, the country’s resources, such as FIFA’s awarding procedures. We have an ethics committee to oversee this, so that the best decision is made. My goal is to ensure that the best country is selected by the CAF executive committee, based on the reports submitted.”