The Ivory Coast football federation (FIF) has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after being stripped of the right to host the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCoN). The Confederation of African Football (CAF) recently confirmed that the 2021 AFCoN had been reassigned to Cameroon, despite a CAF spokesman earlier telling the BBC that no decision on the 2021 hosts had been taken at a 30 November CAF Executive Committee meeting. Under Article 21 of the CAF Statutes, the CAF Executive Committee must designate an AFCoN host six years prior to the date of the tournament.

Cameroon was originally slated to host the 2019 AFCoN, however the CAF withdrew its hosting rights at the 30 November Executive Committee meeting over concerns it had not made adequate preparations. President of the CAF, Ahmad Ahmad, told Afrique Media (video below) that at the 30 November meeting, the CAF had decided to shift the hosting rights back two years, so that Ivory Coast would host the 2023 AFCoN. Guinea, which had previously been awarded the right to host the 2023 AFCoN, would also be affected. The host of the 2019 AFCoN will be announced after a 9 January CAF Executive Committee meeting.