Much-coveted Afcon is finally here!

YAOUNDÉ - A couple of hours earlier than the much-awaited Sunday’s graduation of the African Cup of Nations 2021 competitors, the host Cameroon is now set to stage the much-coveted event on the continent.

The first match will pitch the hosts, the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon versus Burkina Faso in Yaounde on Sunday at Olembe stadium.

Cameroon was initially speculated to be the host nation in 2019, earlier than being stripped of the event resulting from delays in its preparations, with Egypt changing it. The thirty third Cup of Nations was then postponed final year due to the pandemic.

Cameroon, although, is soccer mad and lots of followers can be determined to attend video games in a rustic that has solely hosted the Cup of Nations as soon as earlier than, in 1972 when there have been simply eight members.

The dream for Cameroon this time is to be in the ultimate in the capital Yaounde on February 6, as they give the impression of being so as to add to their 5 titles, a tally bettered solely by Egypt, African champions a file seven instances.

Other international locations eying to win the 2021 event embody Senegal, Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt amongst others.

On Friday, the President of Cameroon’s soccer federation Samuel Eto’o visited the Cameroonian participant on their coaching floor to encourage them as they put together to show their price.

The Central African nation of 27 million folks was due to this fact decided to press on with the competitors amid experiences final month that main European golf equipment wished it postponed once more resulting from Covid considerations.

This time it does go forward, beginning Sunday when Cameroon, coached by Portugal’s Toni Conceicao, tackle Burkina Faso in Yaounde, however the spectre of the coronavirus is not going away.

Arsenal star Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and his Gabon team-mate Mario Lemina examined optimistic on Thursday and had been in isolation in their lodge.

Senegal, Africa’s top-ranked nationwide group, traveled to Cameroon with out three members of their squad who had examined optimistic.

“Unprecedented times,” tweeted Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz on Friday after experiences emerged of optimistic assessments in his squad’s camp.

“The more the situation becomes difficult, the more we stay together and strong,” he added.

– Covid not the one concern – Covid, although, is removed from the one concern in a rustic coping with a battle in the English-speaking west.

Matches in Group F, that includes Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia, are resulting from be performed in Limbe, a coastal metropolis near Mount Cameroon which is additionally a hotspot of separatist unrest.

Jihadist raiders additionally pose an issue in the north, at the least past town of Garoua the place Salah’s Egypt and Nigeria will play group video games.

It is due to the well being disaster that organisers have capped crowd limits at 60 % of capability, or 80 % when the hosts play.

Spectators have to be vaccinated and have a detrimental check outcome, however solely six % of the grownup inhabitants is inoculated.

It due to this fact stays to be seen what number of venues will come near filling the restricted capability, in explicit the huge new 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium in Yaounde and the 50,000-seat Japoma Stadium in Douala.

Cameroon, although, is soccer mad and lots of followers can be determined to attend video games in a rustic that has solely hosted the Cup of Nations as soon as earlier than, in 1972 when there have been simply eight members.

The dream for Cameroon this time is to be in the ultimate in the capital Yaounde on February 6, as they give the impression of being so as to add to their 5 titles, a tally bettered solely by Egypt, African champions a file seven instances.

“We know that Cameroonians have high hopes because the competition is taking place here,” coach Conceicao informed the BBC.

– Senegal, Algeria the favourites – However, the nation that gave the world the likes of Roger Milla and Samuel Eto’o — the latter now president of the Cameroonian Football Federation — not boasts the identical degree of stardust.

They have Ajax goalkeeper Andre Onana and Bayern Munich striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and they need to definitely qualify from a bunch additionally containing Ethiopia and Cape Verde, however the true superstars of the continent can be elsewhere.

Senegal, who face Zimbabwe, Guinea and Malawi in the western metropolis of Bafoussam, boast not simply Liverpool ahead Mane but in addition Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Napoli center-back Kalidou Koulibaly and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye.

Holders Algeria, unbeaten in 33 aggressive video games, can be led by Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez, whereas Morocco have PSG full-back Achraf Hakimi and Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, amongst others.

Little surprise some European golf equipment usually are not glad about dropping such a caliber of participant for as much as a month mid-season.

Nigeria, in the meantime, cross the border with out Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, or Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis, whose membership mentioned they obtained discover of his call-up too late.

In any case this Cup of Nations is not simply concerning the large names, because the Gambia, ranked 148th in the world, and the Indian Ocean island state of Comoros make their debuts, whereas South Africa are amongst these to overlook out. — AFP