The Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe arrived in Cameroon’s commercial hub of Douala on Friday ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) championship in the country.

CAF Secretary General Veron Mosengo-Omba met Motsepe on arrival at the Douala International Airport ahead of Sunday’s start of the tournament.

Omba was accompanied by Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboua, governor of the Littoral region of which Douala is the capital as they met Motsepe who was accompanied by his wife.

Motsepe is due to preside over the opening of the football jamboree alongside Cameroonian president Paul Biya at the Olembe Stadium in the capital Yaounde.

Host nation Cameroon will play the opener against Burkina Faso who arrived in the country early this week.

Twenty out of 24 teams to participate in the four-week tournament have already arrived the Central African nation.

Source: Xinhuanet

All 52 matches of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations which begins on Sunday in Cameroon will have the Video Assistant Referee.

The competition gets underway with hosts Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.

The final match of the 24-team competition will hold at the same venue on FFebruary 6.

The organisers, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), had previously used VAR from the quarter-finals stage of the 2019 edition in Egypt.

However, CAF has now advanced with a full use of the innovation which gained worldwide recognition by 2018.

It is expected to help improve the image of refereeing and also produce world-class match officials in Africa.

Sixty-three match officials, including women referees Salima Mukasanga (Rwanda), Carine Atemzabong (Cameroon), Fatiha Jermoumi (Morocco) and Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco), have been listed for the matches.

The list consists of 24 referees, 31 assistant referees and eight VARs, all coming from 36 countries.

The roster includes two referees from the CONCACAF as part of an inter-confederation skills exchange programme.

Source: Agency Report

The African Cup of Nations is expected to start in Cameroon on Sunday, after experiencing two delays due to the lack of proper preparations on the part of the host nation (Cameroon) and the other due to the emergence of Covid 19.

It appears the virus is still causing a lot of destructions as some top players are already reported to have tested positive for the virus. Burkina Faso for instance left three players isolating in Abu Dhabi before arriving in Yaounde to face Cameroon on Sunday.

The rise of cases amongst players and some team officials has raised calls for a need to postpone the 24-team, 52-game championship in the Central African nation. However, organisers are determined to go ahead with the game.

African soccer president Patrice Motsepe promised an “incredible competition,” despite the challenges being envisaged. One of such measures to limit the risk of the speared of infection is that the capacities in the various stadiums have been reduced. Aside this, only fully vaccinated fans with proof of negative virus tests will be allowed to attend games.

That late restriction was brought in to calm the nerves of Cameroon health authorities who feared an omicron super-spreader.

According to a global vaccination tracker from Johns Hopkins University, less than 3% of Cameroon’s population are fully vaccinated. Meaning the vast majority of Cameroonians won’t be allowed entry to see their country’s biggest sports moment if the vaccination rate has not increased by January 09.

Threats

Despite these challenges, there is a full-blown insurrection in the southwestern part of Cameroon, where English-speaking separatists opposing the Francophone government have been fighting to form a breakaway state and have started to use improvised explosive devices.

The threat to the African Cup is real. An explosion at a university near the tournament host city of Limbe and about a mile from what will be an official team-training venue injured 13 people in November. More than 3,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Any health and safety plans in place?

Local officials say there is a possibility of a nighttime curfew and heavy military presence in the region.

The insecurity and the virus have led top European clubs to call into question the health and safety plans and the general wellbeing of their African players.

Defenders of the African Cup say it’s an easy target and the virus is surging in Europe and soccer leagues there are under strain from outbreaks.

“I want to tell you to respect African players, respect the African Cup of Nations, respect African fans,” former Cameroon national team player Geremi said.

Will the tournament hold?

Despite the grumbling from Europe, all indications are that Africa’s best talents will be in Cameroon.

Senegal, with Mane up front, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy at the back, and top players throughout is one of the favorites to take the title from defending champion Algeria. Salah will captain Egypt, which is African soccer’s most successful team but hasn’t won a continental title since 2010.

Morocco, with a strong defense, was impressive in qualifying. Cameroon’s challenge, as one of African soccer’s trailblazers and a World Cup quarterfinalist 32 years ago, will be to not buckle under the home pressure.

With all the issues arising, both organizers and fans are eager to see witness the beginning and the end of the tournament at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, the capital city.

Source: Africa News

Cameroonian officials have joined hundreds of Muslims and Christians in the capital, Yaoundé, to pray for peace during the Africa Football Cup of Nations games.

Cameroon is hosting Africa’s top football championship starting Sunday, including in western regions, where anglophone separatists have vowed to disrupt the games. Police say the rebels set off a bomb Thursday in one of the towns where matches will be held, but nobody was injured.

Imam Souleymane Bouba of Yaoundé’s Tsinga Mosques prays in Arabic for peace in Cameroon. During the prayers Thursday (January 5) Bouba asked God to protect football players, fans and match officials coming to Cameroon for the African Football Cup of Nations which begins on Sunday (January 9).

Among the more than 60 Muslim and Christian clerics present was Jean Mbarga, archbishop of Yaounde. Mbarga says the prayer at the Mary Queen of the Apostles Basilica in Yaounde asked God to intercede for a peaceful AFCON in Cameroon.

Mbarga says he knows Cameroonians love football very much and will be coming out to cheer their team, the Indomitable Lions, and other African teams they cherish. He says the African Football Cup of Nations should therefore mark a new beginning for a peaceful, strong and united Cameroon. He says Muslims and Christians have jointly prayed for the safety of players, match officials and football fans who will be in Cameroon for AFCON.

Mbarga said he and the cleric who attended the prayer strongly believe that because Cameroonians love football, AFCON will remove the country from the agony it has been going through in several troubled spots.

Mbarga said the Cameroon Association for Inter-religious Dialogue organized the prayer. Cameroon Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute represented President Paul Biya at the prayer. The Cameroon Association for Interreligious dialogue said at least 400 civilians, 20 ministers and senior state functionaries attended the prayer.

Cameroon is hosting the continent’s top football tournament from Sunday to February 6.

Separatists fighting to create an independent English-speaking state in the French-speaking majority country have vowed to disrupt the games. On social media platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, the separatists say they are in ongoing battles with Cameroon government troops. They add that Limbe and Buea are not safe zones.

Limbe and Buea are English-speaking western towns that will host group matches for teams from Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, and Tunisia.

Separatist fighters said Thursday they set off a roadside bomb in Half Mile, a neighborhood in the town of Limbe.

Cameroon military confirmed Thursday’s explosion in Limbe but called it an isolated attempt to scare football fans, players and officials. The government said no one was injured but called on civilians to collaborate with the military by reporting suspected fighters in their communities.

Biya last week called on civilians to use AFCON as an opportunity to turn a new page in the country that has suffered so many crises. The central African state started a military campaign against Boko Haram terrorism on its northern border with Nigeria in 2013.

In 2013, Cameroon said the political turmoil in neighboring Central African Republic was having a spill over on its eastern border with rebel incursions. The Cameroon military has been deployed to the eastern border with CAR since 2013.

The military is also deployed to stop rebels fighting to create an independent state in the central African state’s English-speaking western regions. The United Nations reports that more than 3,300 people have died in the conflict since 2017.

Source: VOA

Workers are applying final touches to the fan zones in Yaounde ahead of the long-awaited launch this weekend of Africa’s biggest sporting event.

Beset by months of problems and uncertainty, the month-long Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets under way on Sunday when host nation Cameroon play Burkina Faso.

Preparations to get the giant screens, shops, restaurants and fan space ready for thousands of supporters in the nation’s capital are definitely in last-minute mode.

“We Cameroonians love to leave everything to the last gasp,” laughs Simon Atangana, a former national player who is part of an organisation setting up the fan zones.

“Everything will of course be ready. AFCON is going to be a huge party, and the pictures will be spread around the world.”

But a familiar foe – coronavirus – is a potential fly in the ointment.

The global pandemic forced the postponement of AFCON from last year, and fears of another delay were eased only last month.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has set down tough rules in a bid to prevent AFCON becoming a super-spreader event.

Those wanting to enter the stadium must be completely vaccinated – in a country where just six percent of the adult population has been jabbed – and show a negative PCR test for the virus that is less than 72 hours old.

Venues have been limited to 60 percent of capacity, although this is being raised to 80 percent when Cameroon’s “Indomitable Lions” take the field.

The rampant spread of the Omicron variant is casting a pall over team lineups.

Gabon’s Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the latest player to test positive and may miss his country’s Group C open match against Comoros on January 10.

“We asked CAF whether we can replace some of our players who got infected with Covid-19 but the answer is no,” said The Gambia’s coach, Tom Saintfiet.

“If this still remains to be the case, it could be a catastrophe… but according to the current rules, we are not allowed to replace anybody in the final list of 28-men squad.”

Waiting for the party

In Yaounde’s Warda Square, hawkers of flags, shirts and vuvuzela horns say they have had a slow start in trade.

“Business hasn’t taken off yet as much as I would like, but I’m optimistic,” said Arnaud Medja, 29, dressed from head to toe in Cameroon’s national colours of green, yellow and red.

“It’s just taking more time than scheduled. It’s just the Covid rules which have come along and put a dampener on things.”

The cup and the tournament’s lion mascot Mola have been going around the streets of Yaounde, backed by dancers and musicians and escorted by motorbike riders bedecked with the flags of all the competing nations.

“AFCON is going to be fun – a party,” said Laurentine, a 33-year-old cosmetics saleswoman.

“It’s going to be great to see the town move and watch everyone get out again.”

Desperate for tickets

On Wednesday, dozens of people lined up outside ticket outlets after AFCON said seats were being put on sale, although they waited in vain.

“I spent all day yesterday queuing. I went to the city hall, to the Ahidjo stadium, and now it’s the Palais des Sports,” said Karine Sunshine, 23.

“But there’s still nothing on sale. I am desperate to see the opening match.

“We’ve been waiting 50 years for this moment – that was the last time AFCON was staged in Cameroon. So I got my vaccinations, and now I am waiting a bit longer, because the Cameroonians are going to win the cup. Just look at the atmosphere there’s going to be this weekend.”

But not everyone seemed to be aware of the tournament’s anti-Covid restrictions – or even to be particularly worried about the virus.

In Yaounde’s central market, hundreds of people, none of them masked, thronged the stalls as Cameroonian and international music blasted from loudspeakers.

“Yes, of course, I will be going to the stadium,” said Abdoulay, a water seller. “You have to get vaccinated (to get in)? Oh, in that case, I won’t go.”

“There’s no corona in Cameroon, and we don’t want the vaccine here. You don’t know what it contains and vaccinated people catch the disease anyway,” he said.

Source: AFP

Cameroon coach Toni Conceicao admits the weight of public pressure is on him as his side hosts the Africa Cup of Nations, adding that the local fans “don’t forgive failure”.

The Portuguese is looking to lead the Indomitable Lions, who last lifted the trophy in 2017, to their sixth continental crown when the tournament begins on Sunday.

“We know that Cameroonians have high hopes because the competition is taking place here,” he told BBC Sport Africa.

“Since the moment it was decided that Afcon would be hosted in Cameroon, every Cameroonian has felt that this will give them the advantage to win the trophy. But for us football professionals we know it doesn’t work that way.

• Attendances capped at 60-80% for Afcon

“We feel that people are more demanding of the Indomitable Lions because of their history and what they’ve accomplished in the past: five African titles and the seven times they’ve been present in the World Cup.

“I hope to win because if we don’t reach the objective of at least reaching the final, it’s going to be a difficult journey. We have to be mentally strong so we can at least reach the final.

“If we don’t, it will be difficult for us, the technical staff, to deal with the criticism, because people here don’t forgive failure.”

‘On alert’

Cameroon face Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Cape Verde in Group A and take on the Burkinabe in the tournament’s opening game in Yaoundé on Sunday (16:00 GMT).

Conceicao describes the group as “well-balanced”, but is undertandably wary of the challenges his side will face as they look to reach the knock-out stage.

“We’ve been watching a few of Burkina Faso’s games and they have a good team,” the 60-year-old added.

“Cape Verde have improved greatly and are ever-growing in experience and maturity.

“The opening game, whether it be at the World Cup, a championship in Cameroon or a European Championship, is always difficult.

“From a historic point of view, people think Burkina Faso and Cameroon will get through, but I don’t think like that. I will put my players on alert.”

The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is set to end on Sunday 6 February, when Yaoundé hosts a final which many Cameroonians are hoping their team will be part of.

Source: BBC

Cameroon has deployed troops and armored cars to towns that will be hosting matches of the Africa Football Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in its troubled Southwest region. Cameroon is hosting the continent’s top soccer tournament beginning Sunday, but the region’s anglophone separatists have threatened to disrupt the games.

Residents of Cameroon’s Southwest region towns of Buea and Limbe say in the past two weeks there has been a noticeable increase in troops and military trucks on the streets.

The troubled Southwest region is one area of Cameroon that will be hosting Africa’s top soccer championship, the Africa Football Cup of Nations (AFCON).

21-year-old University of Bueau student Fabrice Tobi says security in the city is becoming watertight.

He spoke to VOA Wednesday via a messaging application.

“I was surprised with the amount{number} of armored cars and the troops entering Buea with the ones that were already there,” said Tobi. “It is very difficult to leave from one area to the other in the city of Buea without meeting military or security men. In markets and even in student residential areas, they are everywhere. They do the controls. It is very difficult for you to leave your house without being checked or controlled.”

Cameroon’s military confirmed that troops have been deployed to Buea and Limbe to protect football players, officials, and fans for the tournament. A spokesman declined to comment on the number of troops and armored vehicles deployed.

The southwestern towns will host group matches for teams from Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, and Tunisia.

Anglophone separatists fighting in Cameroon’s west to break away from the majority French-speaking nation have vowed to disrupt the games.

Within the past two months Buea has reported at least six attacks by separatist fighters.

The rebels took responsibility for November and December bombings at the University of Buea and the town’s Great Soppo Market that wounded at least 14 people.

The governor of Cameroon’s Southwest region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, says civilians should report any rebel suspects hiding in their community.

“We will continue to sensitize the population, particularly towards vigilance. You know what happened in the Great Soppo market,” said Bilai. “It is the population themselves who seized the bag and called gendarmes to come and destroy it. That is the behavior, the action, we are expecting from the population.”

Bilai says residents and visitors should not be afraid of the separatists’ threats.

He says the separatists made similar threats when Limbe and Buea hosted matches of the African Nations Championship a year ago without incident.

Source: VOA