In his last-minute visit to Cameroon, Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe has given some reassurances that the Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead as planned after weeks of uncertainty.

“We will all be present in Cameroon in a few weeks,” said Motsepe standing in the Olembe stadium, which is scheduled to host both the opening match and final of the continental finals.

“I am so proud of the work carried out. We can see the scale of the commitments taken so that the problems raised in recent days are resolved.”

When pressed what that precisely meant, Motsepe said: “I will meet you on January 9. I will be there from the 7th with my wife and my children because we are all Cameroonians! (…) So if I’m there from the 7th, everyone must be there on the 7th, for the event to kick off on the 9th.”

The CAF boss will hold meetings with Cameroon’s president Paul Biya to seek further reassurances over the competition. European clubs have been reluctant to release players because of the emergence of the Omicron variant and FIFA president Gianni Infantino is understood to have put his weight behind those European clubs who demand the tournament be rescheduled.

Motsepe however defended African football.  “Our generation must be the one who believes in Africans,” said Motsepe.

“We can organise a football competition as qualitative as that organised in Europe and elsewhere in the world. We have to believe in ourselves, we have to stop being negative and sceptical about our own abilities. Sometimes we are overly critical of ourselves. If we ourselves do not trust Africans, who will trust them?”

In 2019, the Africa Cup of Nations was shifted from Cameroon to Egypt at the eleventh hour because the West African country was not ready to stage the 24-team format.

Source: Inside World Football

Fresh uncertainty has emerged over whether next month’s African Nations Cup in Cameroon will take place following claims that FIFA president Gianni Infantino has intervened.

Unconfirmed reports suggest a split within the Confederation of African hierarchy over whether to press ahead, in the wake of the new Covid variant and the threat of multiple player withdrawals, with the Continent’s showpiece tournament that has lucrative television contracts.

Infantino is understood to have put his weight behind those European clubs pushing for the rescheduling of the event that is due to kick off on January 9.

Apparently a virtual meeting of CAF’s executive committee on Sunday failed to reach agreement, with the Cameroon hosts refusing to accept yet another delay to a tournament which has already been postponed twice.

Reports suggest a CAF delegation, headed by the African football body’s president, Patrice Motsepe, was due to travel to Cameroon today to check on final preparations, with another meeting now scheduled for Wednesday.

The growing narrative is that Infantino’s first priority is the Club World Cup, due to begin on February 3 but which overlaps with the conclusion of the Afcon.

Source: Inside World Football

The fate of January’s Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon hangs in the balance due to concerns over the country’s readiness to host the tournament as Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe arrived in Yaounde on Monday for talks.

On Sunday, a CAF executive committee meeting resolved to go ahead with the 24-team event only if Motsepe was able to secure guarantees from Cameroon over its readiness.

Several members of the committee called for the tournament to be postponed, insiders told Reuters, but the majority voted for Motsepe to make an emergency trip to engage with the Cameroon government.

Concerns have been voiced over a lack of organisation, incomplete building work and the threat of coronavirus outbreaks among the large number of players and staff set to descend on the under-resourced country in the next few weeks.

“We are clear in terms of our commitment to make the AFCON a success in Cameroon, and I’m confident after our meetings today and tomorrow we can come out of here and give Africa and the world the confidence,” Motsepe told reporters in Yaounde on Monday.

Last week, CAF sent its general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba to urge the speedy completion of building work at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, scheduled to host the opening game on Jan. 9 and the final on Feb. 6.

But Sunday’s executive committee meeting was told there was a major risk of the tournament failing, with construction work incomplete after contractors were not paid, insufficient accommodation and training facilities and several key organisational staff quitting.

Cameroon was originally awarded the hosting of the 2019 finals, but the tournament was switched to Egypt when CAF decided the central African country was not ready. Cameroon was then handed the 2021 tournament, which has since been delayed by 12 months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CAF said last week that it would be importing its own laboratory, bypassing local healthcare facilities, to test players during the tournament.

Clubs in Europe, where a significant number of the players in the tournament play regularly, are concerned over the healthcare arrangements as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly.

Source: Reuters

The Cameroon government in collaboration with the country’s football association, Fecafoot, together with CAF, have reached an agreement to implement stringent Covid-19 protocols at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations.

Cameroon will stage the 24-nation event from January 9 to February 6, and the organisers have assured that the continental championship will go ahead amid the spike in fresh infections from the new Omicron variant.

CAF, the Cameroon government and Fecafoot are of the view that the competition can be used to raise awareness on the steps that can be taken to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.

In light of this, the three parties have decided that:

. Supporters may only enter stadiums to attend the 52 Afcon matches in Cameroon if they are fully vaccinated and are able to show a negative PCR test result that is no older than 72 hours or a negative antigen test result no older than 24 hours;

. The competent health authorities will take all necessary action to facilitate vaccination and the performance of screening tests at all competition sites in Cameroon;

. Moreover, with a view to ensuring objectivity and neutrality as well as trust on all sides, CAF will use an independent, internationally recognised laboratory to test the national team players and their delegations.

This was announced by Cameroon Minister of Sport Professor Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, Minister of Public Health Malachie Manaouda, CAF general secretary Véron Mosengo-Omba and Fecafoot first vice-president Céline Eko Mendomo on Thursday.

“In Cameroon, as has been the case elsewhere, effective measures have been taken as part of a coherent and tried-and-tested approach to counter the pandemic. The government has set up a special health protocol to combat Covid-19, which applies to the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations,” the parties said in a joint statement.

“As is widely known, organised football plays an important role in fostering integration and peace, as well as bringing people together. It is also a catalyst of hope, a vehicle for shared values.

“Therefore, despite the additional challenge posed by the pandemic to the global community, the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations will go ahead as scheduled on January 9 2022 at Olembe Stadium.”

Source: News 24

As the rise in COVID cases gets greater and greater, many games and competitions are in danger of getting postponed or even cancelled. From the NFL to the Premiership, games are being pushed back to later dates. Yet this could be the most important postponement. Africa’s most significant tournament, the Africa Cup Of Nations, could be postponed to a later date.

European clubs have threatened to take their players out from AFCON if the tournament goes on, which could create a type of tournament similar to the FIFA Arab Cup. There were not a lot of world-class players at the Arab Cup, leading to lessened exposure.

Additionally, Cameroon, the host nation, has been torn apart by civil war. The Anglophone Crisis has seen thousands dead. Some of Cameroon’s biggest stadiums are right in the middle of the warfare.

Yet CAF usually needs money from AFCON to stay afloat. Club competitions, other national team games, wages: most are dependent on the income AFCON makes. COVID and a civil war would ordinarily rule out a tournament for the time being, but CAF’s situation is entirely different.

The Expectation

Under immense pressure from UEFA, one might expect CAF to fold and reschedule the tournament for next summer. But CAF could just as easily disregard the warnings and continue with the tournament. This turn of events is especially unfortunate for Africa, but a decision needs to be made.

As numerous managers continue to start drafting preliminary rosters, the world watches in dread. Will the Anglophone crisis force AFCON to a halt. Will COVID cases leave national teams crippled? Only time will tell.

Keep Your Eyes Peeled

European clubs, especially ones in the Premier League, are worried about the rising COVID cases in Africa. Look out for news about clubs pushing for postponement.

This week, defence 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, CameroonIntelligenceReport wrote. Limbe and Buea are towns caught in the middle of the unrest. Allowing games to continue there is a little bit arrogant and unsafe. Should CAF take a stance on this?

CAF has stuck to their guns and said that the show will go on, but red lists and relocation rumours still swirl in the air. If CAF continues the tournament, will towns near the unrest still host matches? Is a temporary truce in order?

Source: World In Sports

Europe’s top clubs are threatening not to release players for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon over fears surrounding its Covid-19 health protocol.

The European Club Association, which represents leading clubs across the continent, made its concerns known to FIFA in a letter seen by AFP.

“With regards to applicable protocols, as far as we are aware, CAF (the Confederation of African football) has not yet made available a suitable medical and operational protocol for the AFCON tournament, in the absence of which clubs will not be able to release players for the tournament,” the ECA told football’s world governing body.

The Cup of Nations, which was already postponed last year due to the health crisis, is due to start in Cameroon on January 9 and run until February 6.

Many of Africa’s leading players are based at clubs in Europe, including Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, Riyad Mahrez of Manchester City, Achraf Hakimi and Idrissa Gana Gueye of Paris Saint-Germain.

The ECA also raised concerns about the danger of players being unavailable for even longer periods due to the potential for travel restrictions or mandatory quarantine being introduced, in particular in relation to the emerging threat posed by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

According to FIFA’s rules for the release of players for international duty during the pandemic, clubs can retain players if “there is a mandatory quarantine of at least five days on arrival” in the place “where a national team match is supposed to take place” or when the player returns to his club.

Contacted by AFP, a senior official in the Cameroonian Football Federation (Fecafoot) dismissed any suggestion the tournament may be called off as “fake news”.

Source: AFP

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government has dismissed the Biya regime recent military drill at the Yaoundé Nsimalen International airport saying that football teams and fans coming into the divided Cameroon in January will face one of the capabilities the Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards have developed.

The Ambazonia Interim Government says no military drill can bring security and safety for French Cameroun and football teams including football fans. Yaoundé recently staged a security drill at the Yaoundé Nsimalen International airport in a bid to inform international public opinion that the Biya administration was more than ready to host the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima said the Nsimalen drill represents a French Cameroun retreat and its weak points. Yerima noted that Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards will take the war of liberation deep inside French Cameroun during the Africa Cup of Nations as Amba fighters continue to improve their strategic capabilities.

Yerima also observed that the Nsimalen drill was a message to the Sawa people in French Cameroun that Biya and his gang only care about Centre and South regions.

For Southern Cameroonians living in Ground Zero, Vice President Dabney Yerima opined that the Nsimalen drill is a confirmation that they live in Africa’s largest open-air prison known in Yaoundé as South West and North West regions.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from Isong Asu