Football-loving Cameroon counts for first AFCON in 50 years | Football News

Yaounde, Cameroon – Ndongo Minsoko was 10 years old in 1972, when he was among 1,000 students, when he was among the 1,000 students chosen to join thousands of other audiences. African National Cup (AFCON) at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in the capital, Cameroon, Yaounde.

Half a century later, his country will witness the second major African football tournament for the second time.

“I feel so excited and honored,” said Minsoko, a professor at Yaounde’s National Youth and Sports Institute. “We should give a very, very good picture of our people.”

On Sunday, the Cameroonian national team – known as “The Indomitable Lions” – will play Burkina Faso in the opening match of AFCON at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde.

It was the first time Cameroon had scheduled a full-month tournament in 2019, but Egypt was replaced by training delays and security concerns. It was then given the 2021 edition, which was delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

And a few weeks ago, doubts remained as to whether Cameroon would be able to host the 24th tournament amid fears of COVID-19 outbreaks and security concerns over years of conflict in the country’s English-speaking regions. Uncertainty was heightened by clashes between members of the African Football Confederation (CAF) executive committee, as well as the threat of leaving African players linked to the tournament due to the pandemic due to opposition from European clubs.

The European Club Association is writing to CAF informing them that they have no intention of releasing the AFCON 2021 African players from Cameroon.

The ECA has been lobbying to postpone the tournament since early November.

CAF is moving quickly to calm the reports, saying AFCON will happen. pic.twitter.com/b1guw4gN7X

– Gary Al-Smith (@garyalsmith) December 15, 2021

Concerns have also been raised about Cameroon’s willingness to organize and complete infrastructure. But on December 22, after a “fruitful” meeting between CAF President Patrice Motsepe and Cameroonian President Paul Biya, the football organization said it was “preparing for the successful organization” of the tournament.

But the clouds that hung over AFCON’s creation left the football legend and current president of the country’s football federation, Samuel Eto’o, passionate. “If the European Championship was in the middle of a pandemic, if there were stadiums in many European cities and there were no problems, why not play Afcon in Cameroon?” Eto’o told Canali in the French media last month.

Tijani Babangida, a former Nigeria international who was in Cameroon in October as part of an African football team invited by the Cameroonian presidency to inspect AFCON facilities, said he believed the country was in a position to do so.

“I’m very impressed with what I’ve seen,” said Al Jazeera, a 48-year-old who played for Nigeria between 1994 and 2004. “Cameroon has done very well. If you see the pitches, the hotels, the hospitals … they are all standard. ”

Cameroon has built or renovated more than 30 stadiums and training grounds in five of its 10 regions for the 24th tournament in Yaounde, Douala, Garoua, Bafoussam and Limbe.

Security concerns have centered on Limb, an English-speaking coastal town in Cameroon, where English-speaking separatists have clashed with government forces for about five years. The government has stepped up security by deploying more officers in Limbe, as it is a relatively quiet resort town in the troubled south-western region.

Tournament officials have also made several trips to Limbera, which hosted one of the teams in the 2020 African Nations Championship – the African Player Championship – in January 2021, without incident.

‘Beautiful football jamboree’

On the other hand, Olembe Stadium, the new 60,000-seat facility that will host the opening ceremony and match on Sunday, has been the topic of discussion, but Jules Denis Onana, the stadium’s coordinator and former Cameroon international. , stressed that there was no reason to worry.

“I can assure you that we are ready for this competition on January 9 at the stadium,” the 57-year-old told Al Jazeera. “We’re only working with the flowers at the west entrance to the stadium.”

On Tuesday, CAF said it had agreed with the local organizing committee that matches in Cameroon would be played in front of 80 per cent of the stadium’s capacity due to the pandemic, while in other matches capacity would be limited to 60 per cent. Audiences should submit proof of vaccination as well as a negative PCR test result. CAF said it will also bring its own laboratory to test players during the competition.

In his New Year’s speech, Biya called on Cameroonians to “massively mobilize AFCON 2021 to become the most beautiful football jamb ever organized on our continent.”

Egyptian superstar Mohamed Salah will lead the attack in the tournament [File: Andrew Medichini/AP Photo]

Football superstars like Mohamed Salah (Egypt) and Sadio Mane (Senegal) from Liverpool and Riyad Mahrez from Algeria (Algeria) are ready to represent their countries at AFCON. But their clubs were allowed to hold players until January 3, until December 27, according to FIFA rules, after CAF approved the request for home leagues. However, controversy has arisen over the dismissal of some players, including Watford Englishman Emmanuel Dennis (Nigeria) and Ismaila Sarr (Senegal).

“You may be wondering, why didn’t we have that reaction in the days of George Weah, Didier Drogba or Samuel Eto’o?” he said, referring to high-profile footballers from African countries. “Now it’s time to confirm that the African players are very well qualified,” added Elum, suggesting that it is difficult for European clubs to release their talent in the middle of the season.

Since its inception. AFCON was in January and February when the European Championships were in full swing. In 2017, CAF decided on the June-July period, expanding from 16 to 24 teams. Egypt held its first renewed edition in 2019, but Cameroon decided to hold the tournament in January due to the rains in June.

Although Elum believes that the Europeans’ approach to AFCON has been disrespected, CAF and FIFA are also very concerned.

“There was a real lack of respect for Africa for AFCON for a few weeks, as CAF was still thinking of postponing the event after pressure from Cameroon. CAF and FIFA need to fix a proper schedule to prevent such a show again,” he said.

Crazy football in Yaounde, however, is creating excitement ahead of The Indomitable Lions ’first game.

“I can’t imagine this tournament that I watched on TV will take place in our country in a few days,” 20-year-old Gervais told Al Jazeera. “I wasn’t even born when we did the first tournament. I feel very happy.”