Holders Cameroon have had their request to replace forward Joel Tagueu, ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations because of a possible heart defect, rejected by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

However, coach Clarence Seedorf said they would look to appeal the decision, which CAF have not revealed themselves.

“We are not satisfied with the decision. We need to go for it again, we hope there will be a change of position,” he told reporters.

“We did everything we had to do, we made our request 24 hours before the match and we still remain hopeful. It is only fair for CAF to allow us replace the player.”

Tagueu was withdrawn after a medical examination revealed a possible life-threatening heart defect.

The 25-year-old, who plays for Portuguese club Maritimo, had an “anomaly in his coronary artery detected by team doctor William Ngatchou, which risks his life if he were to play,” the Cameroon Football Federation said on Monday.

“On the advice of the doctor, the coach has decided not to risk the player, who is leaving the tournament.”

The doctor first detected the issue when Cameroon held a pre-tournament training camp in Qatar and subsequent examinations confirmed his suspicion.

Africa Cup of Nations regulations state that a player can be replaced up to 24 hours before the first game of the team concerned.

“A player on the final list cannot be replaced unless seriously injured at the latest 24 hours at least before the beginning of the first match of his team,” it says.

Cameroon got the defence of their title underway on Tuesday with a 2-0 win over Guinea Bissau in Ismailia.

Source: www.channelnewsasia.com

Nigeria’s national team at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2019) became the latest to stage a strike over unpaid bonuses, when it refused to train ahead of Wednesday’s clash against Guinea.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons who represented the country at the Women’s World Cup in France also staged a sit-in strike at a hotel, while Cameroon and Zimbabwe have also come to AFCON 2019 with unresolved payment issues.

In this article, we look at the prevailing bonus payment disputes, and how they have been managed.

Nigeria’s teams

The Super Eagles of Nigeria who had been striking over over unpaid bonuses at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations underway in Egypt, eventually suspended their strike on Tuesday.

The players had reportedly not received a $10,000 match bonus that they had each been promised.

The team finally agreed to train in Alexandria ahead of their game against Guinea in Alexandria, after the Nigerian Football Federation promised to pay a win bonus from their 1-0 victory over Burundi on Saturday.

Nigerian Football Association spokesman Ademola Alajire said the matter had been resolved, conceding that funds for the tournament had arrived late.

The Nigerian under-20 team and the women’s team, whose world cups are ongoing in Poland and France respectively, also went on strike over unpaid bonuses.

Cameroon’s late arrival at AFCON

Cameroon’s arrival at the tournament in Egypt was delayed by 24 hours when the squad refused to board their plane in Yaounde while they haggled over increased appearance fees and bonus monies.

They eventually boarded after negotiations with government officials and coach Clarence Seedorf suggested on Sunday that the experience might well turn out to be a positive.

“All teams in the world at some point in their history experience such troubles,” said the former Netherlands international and four-time Champions League winner, “but it will not affect our morale or our preparations.”

“Actually the bonus crisis has reinforced the team spirit and the determination within the squad to perform well. There was some tension but the players have behaved maturely and they’ve decided to be here to fight for Cameroon.

Cameroon won their tournament opener against Guinea Bissau at Ismailia on Tuesday, and are top of Group F after Benin and Ghana settled for a 2-2 draw in the other Group F game.

Zimbabwe’s AFCON uncertainty

While Zimbabwe’s football federation denied allegations that the national team threatened to boycott AFCON 2019 over a pay dispute, the team’s striker Khama Billiat said he was happy with his country’s performance against Egypt ‘under the circumstances’.

‘‘I think the guys are really professional, if credit to them for that, that we put everything away in the space of a few hours, and shifted our focus to the game,’‘ Billiat said after Zimbabwe’s 0-1 loss to hosts Egypt.

“ZIFA and Warriors have signed a contract and both parties will honour and respect all contractual obligations,’‘ the football association had reiterated before the tournament opener.

Source: Africa News

Mali produced three stunning goals as they thumped Africa Cup of Nations debutants Mauritania 4-1 on Monday, handing their neighbours a harsh lesson in their first ever match at the finals.

Abdoulaye Diaby blasted Mali in front and Moussa Marega converted a penalty to put them 2-0 ahead by halftime.

Adama Traore added a third before substituted by his namesake Adama Traore who then scored the fourth, both from outside the penalty area.

In between, El Hacen El Id made history by converting a penalty for Mauritania’s first ever goal at the tournament.ADVERTISING

Mali, playing at their seventh successive finals, became the first team to score more than two goals in a match at the tournament and also produced arguably the best performance so far.

Mauritania began brightly but were let down by too many elementary mistakes. They completely messed up one free kick around 30 metres from goal, gifting possession to their opponents, and their first touches were often heavy.

Mali took a while to get going but, with a young team of players based mainly in France and Portugal, were impressive once they got into full flight.

Diaby broke the deadlock after collecting a pass around 30 metres from goal, shuffling past two defenders and firing a rising shot into the net from just outside the area.

The powerful Moussa Marega was a constant threat for Mali, and after being denied several times, finally got on the scoresheet with a penalty in the 45th minute after Hamari Traore was tripped by Mauritania goalkeeper Brahim Souleimane.

Mali continued to dominate after halftime and, 10 minutes after the re-start, Adama Traore slipped past a couple of defenders and beat Souleimane with a low shot from outside the area.

Mauritania kept pressing forward and were rewarded with a penalty which El Hacen El Id converted, prompting delirious celebrations amid the players and officials.

Those were cut short, however, when substitute Adama Traore curled in from 25 metres to complete the scoring in style.

Angola snatch draw

In Group E’s other encounter Monday, Angola salvaged a surprise but deserved 1-1 draw against an uninspired Tunisia after Djalma Campos cancelled out a Youssef Msakni penalty.

In a generally disappointing game, Tunisia went ahead against the run of play in the 34th minute but failed to build on the lead and paid the price when Djalma snapped a rebound in the 73rd minute.

The game was played in hot conditions, although a sea breeze made the temperature more bearable and it did not seem to unduly affect the players. The stadium was barely one quarter full with spectators scattered around the arena.

“It was a very difficult and demanding game … I think we played the best African team,” said Angola coach Srđjan Vasiljevic. “We had enormous difficulties in the preparation period but we faced a strong rival and got a good result.”

There was a lot of probing by both sides early on but Angola were more positive and Wilson Eduardo went close with a looping shot across the face of the goal.

Tunisia went ahead with a penalty as Msakni found Sliti Naim who cut inside Salomao Paizo and was brought down by the Angolan’s clumsy lunge. There were few complaints from Angola and Msakni fired the spot kick into the roof of the net.

The North Africans, the second highest African team in the FIFA rankings, sat on their lead and Angola, back at the tournament after missing the previous two, took advantage.

Tunisia goalkeeper Farouk Ben Musthapha spilled a shot by Matheus and Djalma turned in the rebound.

Tunisia twice came close to a stoppage time winner as Wahbi Khazri prodded the ball wide after a free kick and Msakni sent a free shot wide of the post from the edge of the penalty area.

Two-time champions Ivory Coast off to winning start

Earlier Monday, striker Jonathan Kodjia struck 26 minutes from time to hand Ivory Coast a 1-0 win over South Africa as the two former champions kicked off their Africa Cup of Nations campaign.

Kodjia squandered several earlier chances before finally breaking the deadlock in the 64th minute of the Group D match at the Al Salam Stadium in Cairo.

The goal was scored at the end of a swift move out of defence by the Ivorians.

It took just two passes to find the forward, who was goalside of the defence and had only the keeper to beat.

Kodjia had been in a similar position in the first half but instead of placing the ball, he blasted it to allow South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams to come up with a brilliant close-range stop in the 32nd minute.

The Aston Villa striker was also twice set up with goal scoring chances in the opening 11 minutes, but both times failed to get a touch.

The Ivorians also struck the woodwork just after the half hour mark as Nicolas Pepe curled a left-footed effort on the crossbar.

Pepe had another set piece chance two minutes from time but Williams made a finger-tip stop to deny the Ivorians a second.

With the temperature in the stadium touching 36 degrees Celsius, it stifled the tempo of what was a largely scrappy affair.

South Africa, who won their only Cup of Nations title in 1996, were unable to get their short passing game going and only had one half chance which captain Thulani Hlatshwayo headed wide of goal.

Two-time winners Ivory Coast join Morocco, who edged Namibia with a last gasp goal on Sunday, at the top of the group standings.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)

Cameroon’s squad arrived in Egypt for the Africa Cup of Nations late on Saturday after delaying their departure over a pay dispute, risking possible sanction.

They touched down in Cairo at around 11 p.m. local time, to be greeted by a small group of supporters, some 24 hours behind schedule.

The squad had refused to embark for Egypt on Thursday, calling for their fee to be doubled for appearing at the tournament, which they won two years ago.

But they later agreed to travel without any promise of more money.

The Cameroon football federation said each player was paid a qualification bonus of 20 million CFA francs (US$34,693) and would be given 5 million CFA francs after winning a first game at the tournament.

In a letter signed by all the players, they said most had paid their own air tickets to the team’s pre-tournament training camps in Madrid and Doha.

“A presidential decree dating back to 2014 states that all bonuses, participation fees for friendly matches and camping must be paid to the players before the start of a major tournament,” they wrote.

“We have even accepted a 25per cent cut in our regular bonuses ahead of the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations but unfortunately, they are not honouring this. We deplore the poor communication between the players and football officials of this country.

“We wish that the future generation of players would not suffer a similar disregard as us and those who preceded us.”

Cameroon start the defence of their title against Guinea Bissau in Ismailia in Group F on Tuesday.

According to tournament regulations, teams must be in the host country five days before the kickoff of their opening match, which means Cameroon face a possible fine.

In 2014, their squad refused to board a plane due to take them to Brazil for the World Cup because of disputes over bonuses, also delaying their departure until they were paid more.

Disputes over bonus payments also overshadowed their participation at both the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, where the team failed to get past the opening group stage.

(US$1 = 576.4800 CFA francs)

Source: Reuters

Cameroon national football team coach Clarence Seedorf on Wednesday named his final 23-man squad for this month’s 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt.

Seedorf said he made his choices based on the players’ performance in professional leagues, the team’s tactical strength and attitude, and performance during training sessions.

“We chose players with the characteristics that suit us. You have to trust my choices and support the team.” Seedorf told a press conference in the capital, Yaounde.

Striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting will captain the team, though star forward Vincent Aboubakar misses out with injury.

“[Aboubakar] came in injured a week before we started training, unfortunately. From a medical point of view, he would have been ready only in the third week [of the competition],” Seedorf said.

Defending champions Cameroon are in Group F with Benin, Guinea-Bissau and Ghana.

The 2019 AFCON is set to run from June 21 to July 19.