The much-anticipated Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament kicks off today, January 9, 2022, even though there is a surge in COVID-19 on the continent.
The tournament, originally scheduled to be played in June and July 2021, will be played in Cameroon between January 9 and February 6, 2022.
Twenty-four teams will take part in the tournament, with host Cameroon hosting Burkina Faso to open the tournament in Yaounde.
Following Cameroon’s curtain-raiser against Burkina Faso today, Ethiopia will take on Cape Verde at 7pm.
The Africa Cup of Nations has delayed for three years after two delays.
The first postponement was as a result of the host country’s own faulty preparations, and the other because of a global pandemic that organisers and everyone else had hoped would be in retreat by now.
Instead, the virus is surging again because of the Omicron variant, leaving the continent’s showpiece event in the same place it was 12 months ago, with the talents of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and many others at risk of being eclipsed by infections and outbreaks in a region that has some of the lowest vaccination rates in the world.
Amid some calls to postpone again, organisers indicated their resolve to forge ahead with the 24-team, 52-game championship, culminating in the final taking place at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde, the capital city on February 6 in the capital.
Omicron Variant Infecting Players
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.
The Gambia’s coach, Tom Saintfiet, bemoaned the situation, while acknowledging CAF’s strict rules, noting that CAF refused its request to replace infected players.
“We asked CAF whether we can replace some of our players who got infected with Covid-19 but the answer is no. 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.”
Tom Saintfiet
Strict COVID-19 Compliance
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has set down tough rules in a bid to prevent AFCON becoming a super-spreader event.
According to CAF, those supporters wanting to enter the stadium must be completely vaccinated and show a negative PCR test for the virus that is less than 72 hours old. Albeit, in a country where just six percent of the adult population has been jabbed.
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 later this afternoon.
In the intervening time, preparations to get giant screens, shops, restaurants and fan space ready for thousands of supporters in the nation’s capital are definitely in last-minute mode, while the capital is buzzing in jubilant mood.
Many fans are desperate to see the opening match. One fan stated how prepared he is for the opening game.
“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.”
Cameroonian Fan
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