Africa Cup of Nations final to hold at Olembe stadium where 8 persons died from stampede
The Africa Cup of Nations final is scheduled to take place at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.
This comes as the Confederation of African Football confirmed on Sunday that, in light of assurances received by local authorities following a hearing into the causes of last Monday’s crush, there will be no venue change for Cameroon’s semi-final against Egypt nor the tournament final on January 6.
CAF’s announcement means that the second semi-final scheduled for February 3 will be at the ground along with the February 6 final.
A statement from the CAF reads, “Having noted the recommendations and undertakings from the government in regard to additional security provisions…the CAF Organising Committee unanimously agreed to lift the suspension imposed on the Olembe Stadium.
“The Local Organising Committee and the government of Cameroon having significantly increased security and resources at the Olembe Stadium, (CAF) are confident that the safety and security of spectators and visitors will be assured.”
Eight people were reported to have been killed and dozens hurt in a crush outside the stadium hosting an Africa Cup of Nations match in Cameroon.
A video footage showed football fans struggling to get access to the Paul Biya stadium in a neighbourhood of the capital Yaounde.
Another report said a number of children had lost consciousness.
The stadium has a capacity of 60,000 but because of COVID-19 restrictions, it was not meant to be about 80 per cent filled.
Match officials were quoted as saying that some 50,000 people were trying to attend.
Source: Reuters