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The Africa Cup of Nations will kick off from January 9 to February 6 in football-mad country Cameroon, which will host the continent’s flagship competition. France 24 produced a special program dedicated to the opening ceremony.
A great football country, Cameroon finally hosted the Africa Cup of Nations from Sunday 9th January to 6th February. After three years of delays and controversy, 33e After its first delay in 2019, CAN finally put its bags in the land of the unyielding lion, as the facility was not ready, and it was delayed another year, this time because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With a capacity of 60,000 seats, the Olembé Stadium in the capital city of Yaounde is a gem of a game, built exclusively for the event. It hosted the first match between Cameroon and Burkina Faso on Sunday, the final and group stage of the Cameroon qualifiers, despite controversy over the delays of the project and its cost.
Algeria, Cameroon and Senegal are the most popular
With Burkina Faso, their first opponents Ethiopia and Cape Verde in Group A, the Cameroonians deserve to qualify, especially with a top-four finish in six groups. For the host nation, we found the usual range of favourites, with Algeria led by Djamel Belmadi and sublimated by title holder Ryad Mahrez.
Senegal and its fleet, from goalkeeper Mendy to striker Mane, will seek to finally be crowned continental champions after losing the final twice against Algeria (1-0) in 2019 and Cameroon (0-0, 3-2) in 2002 . Behind the trio are heavyweights, Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) of Egypt, Sebastian Haller (Ajax Amsterdam) of Ivory Coast, Morocco coached by Wahid Khalihodzic , Nigeria’s Kelechi Ishinacho (Leicester) and Tunisia’s Wabi Hazri (Saint-Etienne).
The two “Petits Poucets” who found the continental scene, the Gambia and the Comoros, with their dreams in the back of their minds, were allowed into the round of 16 by these famous third-place finishers.
Of the continent’s heavyweights, only South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo are missing. Without them, the African balloon would be spinning in a month.
with AFP