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

Cameroon is fully ready to host the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), the country’s minister of Sports and Physical Education Narcisse Mouelle Kombi said on Wednesday.

“There is no need to worry about all the preparations. Things are moving on very well. We are fully ready to host. All the commissions and the site supervisors are very committed,” Kombi, also president of the competition’s organizing committee, told reporters in the capital Yaounde after a meeting to assess last-minute preparations and address concerns about COVID-19, infrastructure and security in the host country barely three days before the tournament begins.

Cameroon has faced scrutiny and criticism in the lead-up to the tournament over the not-ready-Olembe Stadium which is scheduled to host the opening and closing match of the tournament.

Kombi said that works at the stadium were virtually done and it was set to host “a very beautiful opening ceremony of the tournament”.

Over 10 African teams have already arrived the Central African nation for Africa’s biggest sports festival.

“The teams have been well received and are very satisfied because they are in very good conditions and are busy in training stadiums,” said Kombi.

Featuring 24 teams, the tournament begins on Sunday with hosts Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso at the 60,000-seat Olembe stadium in Yaounde.

The biennial competition will end on February 6.

Source: Xinhuanet

Nigerian National men football team, the Super Eagles have arrived in Cameroon ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, tournament.

Naija News understands that the 2021 AFCON tournament will kick off on Sunday evening, January 9 with Cameroon playing the opening match against Burkina Faso.

The Nigerian squad and officials are said to have arrived in Garoua, Cameroon, on a chartered flight in the early hours of Thursday.

Super Eagles would be playing their first match against Egypt on Tuesday, January 11 at the Roumde Adjia stadium, Garoua.

The match is scheduled to kick off at 5:00 pm.

Meanwhile, Super Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa could not travel with the Eagles to Cameroon, Naija News understands.

It was confirmed that the 29-year-old player missed the Super Eagles’ last training session on Wednesday, December 5, after receiving the sad news that his relative died.

The National Team management sympathized with the Fatih Karagumruk of Turkey striker and subsequently granted him permission to leave the team’s camp to be with family members.

Musa is, however, expected to join his teammates in Cameroon ahead of Nigeria’s first game of the competition against Egypt on January 11.

Naija News had reported earlier that the shirt number for the players were made public on Wednesday by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

According to the disclosure, in the goalkeeping department, Maduka Okoye will wear the number one jersey, while Francis Uzoho will put on the 23, Daniel Akpeyi gets the number 16 jersey, while John Noble will wear 27.

Others are: Semi Ajayi – 6, Frank Onyeka – 8, Kelechi Nwakali – 25, Joe Aribo – 10, Odion Ighalo – 9

Chidera Ejuke – 13

Culled from Naija News

Attendances during the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) will be capped at 80per cent for host nation Cameroon’s fixtures and 60per cent for other games due to COVID-19, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said.

The tournament will begin on Jan. 9 with Cameroon taking on Burkina Faso at the Olembe stadium in Yaounde, which can seat 60,000 people.

“After several consultations with the Cameroonian government … CAF and the local organising committee have agreed to cap stadium capacity between 60per cent-80per cent in the Africa Cup of Nations,” the governing body said in a statement on Tuesday.

“The 80per cent maximum capacity will only apply for matches of the host country Cameroon.”

The statement added that strict health protocols had been put into place for spectators, who must be fully vaccinated and present a negative test result to attend games.

Concerns about the readiness of stadiums and the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant have made headlines in recent weeks.

A number of teams preparing for the AFCON have also reported positive COVID-19 cases, including tournament favourites Algeria, Ivory Coast and Morocco.

Source: Reuters

There are threats by armed Anglophone separatists to disrupt the 2021 African Cup of Nations which is expected to open in Cameroon on Sunday.

Some armed groups have vowed to disrupt the competition and sent threatening letters to the teams in Group F (Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia) who will play in Limbe and train in Buea, the seaside resort and capital of the south-west region respectively.

“The threats are very serious,” said Blaise Chamango, head of the NGO Human Is Right, based in Buea. “On Wednesday, there was an explosion in Limbe in a takeaway, it is a strong message,” he said by phone to AFP.

“The government has deployed heavily armed soldiers on almost all the intersections of Buea and Limbe in particular. The defence and security forces are carrying out arrests and systematic searches in several areas,” Chamango said.

Already, there are speculations of a possible postponement of the tournament due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the new wave of the Omicron variant.

For the past four years, the regions – inhabited mainly by the Anglophone minority – of the South-West and North-West have been in the midst of a bloody conflict between armed groups demanding independence and the security forces, who have carried out a ruthless crackdown.

According to international NGOs and the United Nations, the violence has left more than 3,500 people dead and more than 700,000 displaced in the west, mainly civilians.

President Paul Biya, on Friday, mentioned “several cases of surrender” in the armed groups. But they “continue to engage in criminal activities, multiplying attacks with improvised explosive devices and murders of unarmed civilians”, warned the head of state, who is criticised by NGOs for being absolutely inflexible on the issue of the Anglophone regions.

In the face of the threat, the government repeatedly insists that “security will be ensured”.

– Arrangements” –

In the capital Yaounde, some 250 km east of the border with the English-speaking areas, the atmosphere was relaxed with few security agents observing the final preparations around the brand new stadium of Olembe, built purposely for the CAN.

“The security situation is really only a concern in the North West and South West but I think our defence forces have enough experience to deal with it,” said James Mouangue Kobila, president of the Human Rights Commission and professor of public law.

“The security arrangements are exceptional considering the stakes and we had the African Nations Championship (CHAN) in January 2021 without incident,” he argues.

Cameroon also faces another threat, in the far north, with jihadist attacks, which have however decreased in intensity since the death last May of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram.

Source: Africa News

Club legend Samuel Eto’o has been immortalised at the Visit Mallorca Estadi with the unveiling of a personalised mural.

The former striker was in attendance with RCD Mallorca, FC Barcelona and LaLiga directors for the unveiling of our tribute painted by local artist René Mäkelä ahead of our hosting of La Blaugrana.

“It’s incredible to come back home and see all this,” Eto’o told club media. “It brings back beautiful memories and it seems like it all happened yesterday. The truth is that RCD Mallorca gave me everything, everything I am.

“My love has always been for RCD Mallorca – everyone knows that. I love Barcelona very much but Mallorca comes before all the other clubs in the world.”

Club president Andy Kohlberg was also in attendance for the visit paid by the recently nominated president of the Cameroon Football Federation to witness the super-imposed image of Eto’o come to life on a 10 by seven metre mural.

“Samuel Eto’o is an icon for our club,” Kohlberg said. “I am very happy and proud to present this tribute to him. It is a great honour to have him here with us. The mural by René Mäkelä was an idea we had several months ago and here we are now – it’s wonderful.”

Mäkelä is a renowned artist who has painted contemporary personalities and celebrities around the world, but could not resist the opportunity to create something with his local club.

“This work is a gift from all Mallorquinistas to one of the most important icons in the club’s history,” the artist said. “It has been a complicated challenge due to the size and weather conditions, but I think that the mural captures the idea that we wanted to transmit.”

“We are very proud that René Mäkelä has collaborated with us,” added Alfonso Díaz, CEO of Business. “We think that he has been able to represent in this mural the importance that Samuel Eto’o has had for RCD Mallorca.” 

Culled from RCD Mallorca