All Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final ties will take place in Bata and
Malabo after tournament officials confirmed two venue switches on
Tuesday.
Originally, the last-eight showdown between Tunisia and
hosts Equatorial Guinea was scheduled to take place in Ebebiyin on
Saturday.
However, that encounter will now take place in Bata
after the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) Executive Committee
stated that the pitch in Ebebiyin - which had only been laid recently -
has been affected by hosting group-stage games and adverse weather
conditions.
Similar problems occurred in Mongomo where a
quarter-final match was originally slated to take place on Sunday, but
that will now be held in the capital Malabo.
A statement from CAF
read: "The CAF Executive Committee agreed to relocate Afcon 2015
quarter-final matches 26 and 27 respectively to Bata and Malabo.
"Initially,
quarter-final match 26 was scheduled in Ebebiyin on January 31, this
match will now be played in Bata stadium the same day.
"Similarly,
the quarter-final match 27 that was scheduled in Mongomo on February 1
will be played in Malabo stadium the same day.
"The newly
installed pitches in Ebebiyin and Mongomo have been very satisfactory,
allowing free-flowing play during the group stages, and this despite
having been installed only about one month ago.
"However, these
two pitches have been adversely affected by a combination of wear and
tear from the six games played or to be played in each of them and the
unstable weather conditions seen lately.
"Consequently, the CAF
Executive Committee feels that the eight teams qualified for the
quarter-final stages onwards should be given the opportunity to play on
grounds that provide the highest standards, specifically those of Bata
and Malabo, to ensure the quality of play remains at the highest
possible level."
Bata Stadium now hosts the quarter-final ties
between Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tunisia and
Equatorial Guinea back-to-back on Saturday.
Estadio De Malabo
also has consecutive matches on Sunday, with the winners of Group C
playing the runners-up of Group D and vice-versa.
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