Accra,– The Confederation of African Football (CAF) says progress has been made towards next year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and is working around the clock to ensure that everything will be in place for the opening game on January 9, 2022.
There have been reports in the media landscape with regard to CAF considering the cancellation of the tournament due to the Omicron new variant of COVID-19.
But the CAF team in Cameroon said they were working with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Cameroon government for the successful delivery of the event.
CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba together with a team on Monday held several meetings including the Minister of Sport, Professor Narcise Mouelle Kombi, and Minister of Public Health Manaouda Malachie.
A statement on the CAF website said: “Following a directive from the CAF President, Dr. Patrice Motsepe who initiated discussions with the Cameroon government on sanitary approach and Covid19 protocols at the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, the meeting between CAF and Health Ministry ironed out a number of details in relation to the competition.
“CAF and Cameroon government reached common ground on the approach to the competition in January. Details and outcome of these discussions would be revealed later this week.”
CAF General Secretary Mosengo-Omba during a visit to the Olembe Stadium revealed some details of the meeting.
He said: “The meetings were important in getting a level of understanding on the state of readiness in Cameroon. There is a lot of work that is being done. We have to continue with the same momentum. We cannot rest. We have to work around the clock.
“I’m not resting, the LOC cannot rest. CAF cannot rest. Everyone must join the efforts. We want to see a great TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations here in Cameroon in January next year,” he said.
“Together with the Minister of Sport, we discussed all the pending issues and the way forward.”
He added that CAF has provided the Cameroonian government and the LOC the best of support for the organisation of the tournament having opened an office in Yaounde to liaise its activities.
“We have put the best support system for this competition. For the last few months, our office in Cairo and also the office in Yaoundé has been working closely with the Cameroon government and the LOC in ensuring that we create the best possible conditions for the visitors. We are working on a number of aspects now including ensuring the movement of the 24 participating teams, the commercial partners, and other stakeholders coming to Cameroon,” he said.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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