Even as the deadly Ebola virus wrea ks havoc in West Africa, and spreads, Danny Jordaan and his executive at the SA Football Association have been asked to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Confederation of African Football sent Safa an SOS after Morocco ceded its right to host the continent's biggest soccer tournament.
Morocco had asked CAF to postpone the tournament because of the Ebola outbreak but CAF reportedly turned the request down.
Though South Africa has hosted the tournament before (1996 and 2013), Safa officials should not ignore t he fear among Moroccans and the world that hosting such a tournament will expose tens of thousands of people to the risk of infection.
Jordaan and his executive should consider, if they decide to help CAF and host the tournament, the risk to the thousands who will be flocking to the stadiums.
Though our health systems have proved to be sound, we should be extra careful.
Ebola is no ordinary disease. It needs careful management.
We should not be alarmists and think that all our visitors would be possible Ebola carriers. But this nation has every right to demand absolute protection from our football administrators and the government.
The decision on whether to host the tournament should not be based on money or economic spin-offs.
What we are talking about here is an epidemic of a disease that is proving difficult to contain and impossible to cure.
We should remember that it has already claimed over 4000 lives and this week the World Health Organisation warned us that Ebola infections could soon reach 10000 a week by December.
Why is CAF not willing to postpone the tournament? Why the rush?
We hope Safa's executive will consider the many questions that South Africans will ask if we decide to once again help CAF and host Afcon. Safa's decision this morning is one of the most difficult South Africans have faced in many years.
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