It was a game of two halves and two great goals as a magnificent 25-yard strike by ex-Marseille striker André Ayew put Ghana 1-0 up against Gabon in the 18th minute – then Jim Allevinah equalised with a similarly magnificent shot in the 88th minute.

However, the match ended in chaos and resulted in Ghana’s Benjamin Tetteh being shown a red card.

Gabon attacked well in the game’s opening minutes but Ghana’s André Ayew scored a corker of a goal nearly 20 minutes in – smashing in a tremendous shot from the edge of the box, setting the mood for Ghana’s ascendancy in the first half.

But Gabon were the team with all the attacking momentum in the tense second half, as Ghana defended well but also resorted to scrappy challenges and time-wasting. Then the inevitable moment came when Gabon’s Jim Allevinah surged forward to smash the ball into the net in the dying minutes of the game.

Reported by Camcordnews and France 24

Troops and armed men exchanged fire on Wednesday in the town of Buea in the Southwest region, leaving several injured.

Buea is a short drive from the coastal town of Limbe, which is hosting eight matches at the Cup of Nations including all games in Group F.

The teams in that group — Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania and Gambia — are using Buea as their training bases.

An opposition senator was also found shot dead in the region on Wednesday, when the road to Limbe from economic capital Douala — a distance of around 80 kilometres — was lined with elite soldiers and members of the police.

Wednesday’s match in Limbe between Mali and Tunisia was marred by controversy when Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe blew the final whistle before 90 minutes had been completed, with Mali 1-0 up.

Officials ordered that the teams would have to come back out to play three more minutes, but Tunisia decided not to bother returning, despite being furious with the referee.

The Confederation of African Football said on Thursday it was investigating the incidents.

On Friday, Senegal, Africa’s top-ranked national team, will look to make it two wins from two in Group B as they play Guinea in western city Bafoussam before Malawi take on Zimbabwe.

Morocco, another of the title contenders, play tournament debutants the Comoros in Group C in Yaounde, where Ghana face a Gabon side who could have star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang back from Covid-19.

Source: AFP

Africans are starting to get used to seeing football games played in empty stadiums, and as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to sweep across the black continent it seems there’s going to be a lot more of it – assuming football games are played at all. For players who are used to selling out every ground they play in, and fans used to being there to see them, this is all very strange.

Cameroon’s fine victory was played out in front of vast swathes of empty seats at the 60,000-capacity Olembe Stadium, with supporters in the football-mad country choosing to stay away from venues in large numbers.

“We hope there will be more people there for the third match,” said Toko-Ekambi.

Organisers have restricted crowds to 60 percent of capacity because of the pandemic, although for games involving Cameroon the limit is raised to 80 percent.

Nevertheless fans must also be vaccinated against Covid-19 and provide proof of a negative coronavirus test, enough to put off many in a country with a very low rate of inoculation.

Despite that Cameroonians are very much behind their team, while the country deals with separatist violence in its two anglophone regions, both of which straddle the Nigerian border in the west.

Faced with this first popular failure, the Minister of Communication, the government’s spokesperson, urged residents to go in droves to the stands to experience the matches live.

“The government, with my voice, urges all Cameroonians to continue to do everything, while strictly adhering to the rules that have been enacted to attend the various meetings in a spirit of fair play, discipline and brotherhood,” wrote Rene Emmanuel Sadi.

Reported by Camcordnews and AFP

Hosts Cameroon became the first team to qualify for the knockout stages of the Africa Cup of Nations on Thursday as captain Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko-Ekambi both scored twice in a 4-1 demolition of Ethiopia in Yaounde.

It was a game that brought the tournament to life after a goal-shy first round of group matches saw a meagre total of just 12 in 12 encounters, four of which were penalties.

Cameroon had been the only team out of 24 at the tournament to score more than a single goal in their first match when a brace of Aboubakar spot-kicks saw them beat Burkina Faso 2-1 on Sunday.

Back at the same Olembe Stadium in the capital Yaounde they ran riot, although only after Dawa Hotessa gave Ethiopia a shock lead.

Lyon forward Toko-Ekambi quickly headed in the equaliser and then Aboubakar added a brace early in the second half before Toko-Ekambi completed the victory.

“We played well going forward but we still need to improve defensively. Things are only going to get tougher,” said Cameroon’s Portuguese coach Toni Conceicao.

Toko-Ekambi, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Collins Fai all also hit the woodwork for the Indomitable Lions, and the five-time African champions are now well-placed to finish top of Group A.

They are three points clear of both Burkina Faso and Cape Verde, who met in Thursday’s late game in Yaounde with the Stallions of Burkina Faso winning 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal by Hassane Bande, who belongs to Ajax.

Ethiopia, the 1962 champions, are left still looking for their first point and their first win at any Cup of Nations since 1976. This is their third appearance at the finals since then but they have now gone 10 matches without a win at the tournament.

Source: AFP

Ivory Coast reminded everyone why they were favourites to win the Africa Cup of Nations when they beat Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday with a sterling Max Gradel goal in the sixth minute. Equatorial Guinea were hard to break down for the rest of the match, but Ivory Coast never looked in danger of throwing away their lead.

It was a brilliantly ruthless strike from Gradel that put Ivory Coast ahead – he reacted in a split-second when sloppy defending gave him the ball on the edge of the box, smashing a piledriver into the back of the net.

Ivory Coast didn’t look back. Equatorial Guinea were pertinacious – getting men back effectively and constantly attempting to counter-attack. But Ivory Coast kept pulling together beautiful strings of midfield passes and frequently converted them into attacking menace with darting runs towards the box.

They have long been one of the most impressive African national teams – boasting one of the continent’s greatest players of all time, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, and winning CAN in 1992 and 2015.

Drogba is long gone – as are most of the players who won that Africa Cup of Nations trophy six years ago, such as Yaya Touré and Kolo Touré. But fresh talent has poured in to the Ivory Coast ranks. In addition to Gradel, they have Sébastian Haller, the Champions League top scorer so far this season, and Crystal Palace’s Wilfried Zaha, one of the Premier League’s best strikers.

Source: France 24

The Africa Cup of Nations tournament descended into farce on Wednesday afternoon, thanks to an incredibly inefficient performance from the referee in the Group F match between Tunisia and Mali.

Zambian man-in-the-middle, Janny Sikazwe, had officiated reasonably okay until the match was in its final stages, and then all hell broke loose.

As ESPN journalist, Dale Johnson, noted on his Twitter account, a penalty was given (that was missed) after a VAR review and then Sikazwe blew for full time with only 85 minutes on the clock.

If that weren’t bad enough, play was eventually restarted and the official sent off a player whom VAR then advised shouldn’t have seen a red card.

After rejecting the VAR review for the sending off, he then blew again for full-time on 89 minutes and 40 seconds.

The farcical nature of Sikazwe’s officiating still hadn’t run its course. Video shows the officials after the game, perhaps realising the mistake, deciding what to do and then deciding that the final few minutes did indeed need to be played.

With supporters filing back into the stadium, Tunisia seemingly refused to come out and complete the game, so it was officially ended in their absence.

Source: One football

It was announced that it is a popular meeting in Cameroon, the country of football, the final stage of the 33rd Africa Cup of Nations is being played in hollow stadiums.

It started on January 09, 2022 at the Yaounde Olympic Stadium, and the first day will end on Wednesday January 12, 2022 at the Limbe Sports Stadium and at the Douala Jaboma Sports Stadium.

But stadiums with scattered fans are the first lesson that can already be learned three days after the grand celebration of African football kicked off.

Aside from an Olympic bunker where organizers recruited high school students and other supporters of President Paul Biya to rally, spectators did not turn out in droves for matches elsewhere. Why are the spectators waiting in the stadiums with the absence of the participants?

“There is first of all this famous requirement of compulsory vaccination. Vaccination does not go well with some conservative peoples; the time of some matches: two in the afternoon when everyone steps in and the referee completes his reports. It is difficult to muster them; the stadium is not in Bafoussam, but In Kouekong.More than 8 km from the city and getting there is not easy, as no taxi makes the line.Kouekong is not a populated area but an area on the Bafoussam – Foumbot road;The Zimbabwean and Senegalese communities in Bafoussam are not overcrowded.It will be the same with exceptions Few other games that do not include the indomitable lions. Even the Ahmadou Ahidjo omnisports stadium matches bear the same fate.” I tried to explain this the day after the Senegal-Zimbabwe match (1-0) Alan Roosevelt Tedjo, deputy and activist of the ruling political party.

No facilities were provided to allow Cameroonians to go to the stadium during the days of the CAN. For example, allowing employees of public and private departments to work daily until 12 noon; Establishment of public transportation (shuttle buses) to and from the city halls at low cost and strong communication on this (different points and times of departure and return); Increase the number of free tickets and invitations. These few measures can improve attendance at our stadiums during the CAN,” added Maurice Kimjang Fuse, President of the Littoral Regional Lawn-Tennis League.

Faced with this first popular failure, the Minister of Communication, the government’s spokesperson, urged residents to go in droves to the stands to experience the matches live.

“The government, with my voice, urges all Cameroonians to continue to do everything, while strictly adhering to the rules that have been enacted to attend the various meetings in a spirit of fair play, discipline and brotherhood,” wrote Rene Emmanuel Saadi.

Source: awanireview

FIFA president Gianni Infantino was roundly booed at the opening ceremony of the Africa Cup of Nations at the Olembé Stadium, Yaounde, Cameroon.

The 40-000-strong crowd was in a jovial mood while the dazzling on-field activities were displayed on a giant TV screen in the stadium. However, when the face of Infantino was projected it raised the ire of the crowd, and a loud chorus of boos rang out.

Infantino’s image also drew a sharp rebuke from Frenchman Claude Le Roy, who was commentating for the DStv Sub-Saharan African channel Canal + Africa. Le Roy has mentored several African national teams during his coaching career. He led Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 1998.

Although he is no longer coaching, he is still passionate about African football, and he openly criticized Infantino for his role in planting doubt in the minds of soccer followers about the Africa Cup of Nations taking place in Cameroon.

“Is he not ashamed to come to Cameroon? He wanted to cancel this Africa Cup of Nations,” said Le Roy. “What is he doing here?”

Infantino was seated out further from Cameroon’s 88-year-old President Paul Biya in the VIP area than usual. As FIFA’s representative, he would usually have a position a seat or two away from the hosts’ president. Instead, that honour was accorded to Confederation of African Football (CAF) supremo Patrice Motsepe.

It was the second time during Infantino’s tenure as FIFA president that he was publicly booed. In July 2019 Infantino was booed at Stade de Lyon in France, as he made his way up to the podium to present the FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy to the winners, the United States of America.

At the time, chants of equal pay rang out, as the crowd voiced its disapproval of discriminatory prize money for the Women’s World Cup.

Last year, Le Roy also criticized Infantino heavily after the event was postponed for the first time.

“Once again, FIFA is pathetic,” said Le Roy. “Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, makes incomprehensible decisions.

“He says he wants to advance African football but does just the opposite.”

This week, Infantino will be having discussions with a wide range of officials on football’s development and its significant role in society. He will also have meetings with Motsepe and CAF General Secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba.

In addition, he will meet with representatives from CAF member associations, football legends, government officials and administrators.

The Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon ends on Sunday, 6 February.

Source: iol.co