The African Cup of Nations is in mourning after the death of several spectators in a stampede while trying to enter the Paul Biya Stadium in Olembe, according to the Associated Press News agency. There are at least 6 people dead and 40 injured.
The scene of the round of 16 match between the hosts, Cameroon, and Comoros, has a capacity of 60,000 seats, which had to be filled by a maximum of 80% (48,000) under the restrictions by COVID-19. However, the organizers assured that the number of 50,000 present was around.
As reported by the aforementioned source, it is estimated that there have been a minimum of eight deaths in an attempt to enter the stadium by circumventing the security forces. In addition, Messassi hospital workers mentioned that there were around 40 injured patients who they were unable to treat and had to be referred to another specialized center.
The country’s president himself, Paul Biya, acknowledged that he was not entirely sure of the total number of victims of the incident. Similarly, the African Football Confederation issued a statement talking about it:
“The Confederation is currently investigating the situation and trying to get more details of what happened. We are in constant communication with the Government of Cameroon and the local Organizing Committee.”
This is the second African Cup of Nations that Cameroon hosts, 50 years after doing so in 1972 and with the host team achieving a third place. However, what should have been a national claim after being denied the edition initially awarded in 2019 due to the lack of preparation of the facilities, has been stained black in the face of the aforementioned event.
The team will have to lift their spirits after what happened and seek to revalidate a title obtained in the Ivory Coast 1984, Morocco 1988, Ghana and Nigeria 2000, Mali 2002 and Gabon 2017. Cameroon has five crowns, being the second most glorious in the tournament behind Egypt (7).
For now, they qualified by winning (2-1) a round of 16 match against Comoros where the result ended up being the least important. In quarters they will be seen with Gambia, in the city of Douala. Olembe’s Paul Biya Stadium must still host a match in that round, the second semifinal and the title match, if the organization does not decide otherwise.
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