The continent’s biggest men’s football tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations, is meant to kick off in Cameroon on 9 January. But the venue for the opening and closing matches, the Paul Biya Stadium in Yaounde, is not ready. And the Oomicron variant of Covid-19 is spreading and causing travel chaos.

The tournament was meant to be held early this year, but was delayed due to the pandemic. Despite the obstacles, a 219-member delegation from the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has started arriving in Cameroon. This is the body that oversees the nations cup.

Cameroon has invested a lot in the tournament after it was stripped of hosting rights in 2019, when it was deemed not ready. The confederation is also under new leadership, headed by South African businessman Patrice Motsepe.

The month-long competition will be held in the 40th year of President Paul Biya’s rule. His namesake 60 000-seater stadium is meant to be the centrepiece of the opening and closing ceremony. In November, confederation secretary general Véron Mosengo-Omba said those matches and ceremonies might have to be held at another stadium. Work is still underway across the entire complex, but anyone who reports on or otherwise documents it faces a fine of $17 000. A final decision will be made on the weekend of 18 and 19 December.

CAF has remained tight-lipped about the impact of Covid-19 amid increasing calls to move the competition, including from European football teams, to where some of the top African players work.

Cameroon has yet to record a case of the Omicron variant, however, and despite the challenges, the organisers seem to have bet the farm on either holding it next month – or never.

Source: Mail&Guardian

Cameroonian authorities have vowed a safe African Football Cup of Nations when they host the biennial tournament in January. Cameroon’s Anglophone separatists have threatened further attacks on two towns that have stadiums to be used for group matches.

Cameroon’s police, military and senior government officials have been holding meetings to ensure a successful African Football Cup of Nations, AFCON, which runs from January 9 to February 6.

On Thursday, Cameroon assembled its 10 regional governors in the capital to examine the country’s readiness to host 24 African soccer teams, officials and thousands of fans expected for the tournaments.

Paul Atanga Nji is Cameroon’s territorial administration minister and permanent secretary of its National Security Council. He says President Paul Biya ordered the meeting to make sure Cameroon gives Africa and the world the most successful AFCON the continent has ever seen.

Nji says Biya does not want the games to be disrupted by separatists and politicians, whom he accused of wanting to project a bad image of Cameroon to the outside world.

“We have told politicians that Cameroonians want a peaceful CAN [AFCON]. Politicians should be reasonable. All Cameroonians should be ambassadors behind our great leader, President Paul Biya, to make this AFCON a great event. Any attempt to disrupt public order will be dealt with squarely. I am very clear, the regional governors have taken up the challenge to promote peace, unity, tranquility, and living together during the AFCON.”

Nji specifically accused opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who still insists he won the 2018 presidential elections, of planning to disrupt the games.

But Kamto says he will be educating civilians on the need for Cameroon to revise its electoral code, which he says favors Biya, during the AFCON matches.

Meanwhile, separatist groups on social media platforms have issued warnings that AFCON matches should not be played in Limbe and Buea, two towns in the South-West region.

Langmi Nestor, spokesperson of the separatist Ambazonia National Self Defense Council says fighters have been instructed to disrupt the games if Biya does not withdraw its troops fighting separatists in the English-speaking western regions.

“Biya must either come to the negotiation table [with separatists] or we give sleepless nights. The freedom of the people of Ambazonia is far more important than any nonsense in the name of the African Nations Cup.”

Armed groups have been fighting to separate Cameroon’s two English-speaking western regions from the rest of Cameroon and its French-speaking majority for the past five years.

This week, defense officials said extra troops have been deployed to protect soccer fans and players all over Cameroon and vowed the matches in Limbe and Buea would go on.

The military says it has deployed troops to the border between French-speaking and English-speaking regions to stop rebels from advancing during AFCON. The military says it is calling on civilians to assist in maintaining peace during AFCON by reporting strangers and suspicious activity in towns and villages.

AFCON’S opening match is a contest between Burkina Faso and Cameroon, a five-time Africa Cup of Nations champion.

Source: VOA

Spanish police are investigating the disappearance of four members of the Cameroon women’s handball team, who apparently absconded from a hotel in Valencia, where they were competing in the World Championships.

The Cameroonian delegation reported the women as missing on Thursday, a police spokesperson said.

Police were not treating the disappearance as suspicious as the women left with all their belongings and there was no sign of a struggle.

“It seems the women left of their own accord,” the spokesperson said, adding that police had no theories as to where they might have gone. The championships began on Dec. 1.

Athletes have frequently used international sporting events to seek asylum or escape poor conditions in their home countries, including seven Cameroonians who disappeared during the 2012 London Olympics.

Source: Reuters

The New Bell wonder boy, Samuel Eto’o, has taken over the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, after a tough fight against the lame duck incumbent, Seidou Mbombou Njoya.

Eto’o’s victory was a forgone conclusion as he had rolled out a massive campaign strategy that had put other contestants in the shadow.

Eto’o, who understands the issues which have disabled FECAFOOT and has come to the rescue of the dysfunctional federation on many occasions, had promised to address those issues during his four-year term.

He had stressed the need to address the issues facing former players, adding that the country’s football leagues were capable of feeding and housing all football actors.

Eto’o, it should be underscored, has saved the lives of several former players who are either homeless or sick and this action has endeared him in the minds of many Cameroonians.

He sometimes paid airtickets for players when the federation was cash-strapped, causing many Cameroonians to hold that he should take over the dysfunctional federation.

Eto’o’s plan to give Cameroon’s football a shot in the arm, places young Cameroonians at the center of every action, a reason why many are prepared to die for him.

He has promised to build a new building for the federation and he will be working very hard to bring in investors in order to make football in Cameroon a massive business venture that should bring benefits to the youths and country.

Cameroonian youths had vowed to go on a rampage if the elections were rigged as they knew that Samuel Eto’o, the man who embodies their dream, would easily scale through  if the elections were free and fair.

The people’s pressure has paid off and it is evident that when young people decide on who has to determine their destiny, nothing can stop such a person.

Cameroon, has over the last four decades, been the ridicule of the world because of the dysfunctional nature of the country’s football federation.

Mr. Eto’o’s election has brought hope and smiles to many faces and millions of Cameroonians are looking forward to the wonder boy transforming things in Yaounde and across the country.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

The FC Barcelona and Inter Milan legend has been voted as the new president of the Cameroon Football Federation (CFF).

Former Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o is the new boss of the West African nation’s football governing body after winning the 2021 FECAFOOT General elections held on Saturday.

The 40-year-old defeated incumbent Seidou Mbombo Njoya in the FECAFOOT president elections which took place at the Monte Febe Hotel in Yaounde.

 Eto’o is the all-time top scorer of Cameroon with 56 goals in 118 matches.

 The role as football chief in the country set to host January’s Africa Cup of Nations became vacant when the incumbent Seidou Mbombo Njoya saw his tenure canceled by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

 Cameroon will host the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations from January 9 to February 7, 2022.

Published in Africa Football

One month today Cameroon and Burkina Faso are slated to get the Africa Cup of Nations underway, probably in Yaounde even if doubts remain over the host nation’s ability to stage the tournament.

Up to 40 Premier League players could be involved. And as the UK adds much of the African continent to its travel red list following the spread of a new coronavirus variant the word could is doing a lot of lifting.

There are still too many doubts and questions around a tournament that may impact Arsenal and Chelsea severely but see Tottenham Hotspur continue unchanged.

So here is an explainer of the key dates, what still needs to happen to make it a reality and for how long players from your club are likely to be absent.

How long does the tournament last?

The final is scheduled for February 6 in Yaounde, meaning a player who goes all the way could end up missing seven club fixtures should he have to report for duty on December 27, which is the date currently stipulated by FIFA.

That’s pretty much two weeks before the tournament starts. Is there a chance of players being given permission to join up later?

Yes. This is a work in progress with clubs negotiating late releases with respective national teams. Some clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, are hopeful that they can keep their players until a week before the tournament kicks off, with Chelsea and Liverpool particularly keen on that possibility considering the title hopefuls face each other on January 2. Senegal, for whom Edouard Mendy and Sadio Mane will be star men, play their opening game on January 10, ditto Hakim Ziyech’s Morocco with Mohamed Salah’s Egypt a day later.

Which clubs will be impacted most?

It is perhaps easier to say who will not be without a key player. Four Premier League teams – Tottenham plus Leeds, Newcastle and Norwich – will not have anyone reporting for duty. Watford could be worst hit with five members of Claudio Ranieri’s squad in contention and next worse off could be Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Mikel Arteta may be without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Thomas Partey (Ghana) and Nicolas Pépé (Ivory Coast) for the duration, with Patrick Vieira contemplating the absence of Jordan Ayew (Ghana), Cheikhou Kouyaté (Senegal), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana) and Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast).

Is there a chance they will not go at all because of the Omicron variant?

Unlikely but not impossible. The situation will need to worsen further but it is worth taking note of the warning statement sent by the European Clubs’ Association last week relating to their “deep concerns” around player welfare and their desire to work with FIFA to “ensure all necessary precautions are in place to protect players and club interests” as the health situation “continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner”.

On the other side the CAF head of communications, Alex Siewe, told BBC Sport on Tuesday that there has been no mention of a postponement. “We can’t keep spending time dealing with rumours,” he said. “We did not receive any other message or information from our leaders – nothing such as changing of dates or countries. We did not discuss such during all our last meetings. We are on site. We are working.”

If Cameroon was added to the red list, players would need to be quarantined for 10 days upon their return but, going off the rules for last month’s international break, they would be allowed special permission to train and play games.

Reports suggest there is still a lot of work to be done?

It seems that way. FIFA’s secretary general Fatma Samoura has taken a hands-on role in recent weeks due to stadiums and facilities being behind schedule. There are meant to be six grounds in use but CAF have not confirmed the exact status.

So what happens if they fail to get things ready?

No deadline has been specified and there have been whispers of moving the show elsewhere – possibly to Qatar. But that poses another long list of logistical questions and at the beginning of this week former CAF technical director Abdel Moneim Shatta suggested that it could simply end up being cancelled in a TV interview.

Source: Football.London

The Confederation of African Football have dismissed rumours that next month’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) could be moved away from Cameroon following the recent discovery of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The new variant has led to travel restrictions being introduced by some countries for several African nations, with Nigeria, which neighbours Cameroon, the latest to be added to the United Kingdom’s ‘red list’.

In recent days, some media organisations have suggested the dates of the 24-team tournament could change or even the location be moved, possibly to Qatar.

Caf’s director of communications, Alex Siewe says neither his organisation nor leading Cameroon officials have discussed such events.

“We can’t keep spending time dealing with rumours,” he told BBC Sport Africa.

“We did not receive any other message or information from our leaders—nothing such as changing of dates or countries. We did not discuss such during all our last meetings. We are on site. We are working.”

Africa’s football showpiece, which has already been delayed because of the global pandemic, is due to kick off on January 9 in Yaounde with the final on February 6. Staff from the Caf arrived in Cameroon this week to organise the Afcon finals.

“An official delegation from Caf has been released and general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba is joining us in two days,” Siewe added.

The European Club Association, an independent body that represents clubs across Europe, has expressed its “deep concerns” regarding player welfare before the tournament, adding that the public health situation “continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner”.

Kenya’s national team, Harambee Stars, will be a no show at the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations. Algeria is the defending champions, having won the 2019 edition.

Kenya’s slim hopes of qualifying for the continental showpiece were dimmed after settling for a 1-1 draw with Egypt in their penultimate Group ‘G’ qualifier at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Other than hosts Cameroon and champions Algeria, other nations expected in the tournament include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea.

Others are Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, G. Bissau and Malawi. Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Sudan and Zimbabwe will also participate.

Source: The Star.co.ke