Eto’o Insists AFCON 2021 Will Not Be Cancelled
Newly elected President of the Cameroon Football Federation, Samuel Eto’o, insists the 2021 African Cup of Nations will go ahead as planned.
Cameroon are due to host the tournament, which has been delayed by a year because of the coronavirus pandemic, from January 9 to February 6 next year.
There have been widespread reports that the tournament could be rescheduled or cancelled entirely because of the coronavirus omicron variant which continues to spread across the globe.
Some European clubs have even threatened to block their players from participating in the tournament to prevent them from contracting the virus.
But Eto’o insists AFCON 2021 will go ahead just like EURO 2020 took place even in the middle of the pandemic across various European cities.
“I don’t see a reason to not hold the African Cup of Nations,” the former Cameroon skipper told French TV channel Canal Plus.
“The Cameroonian Football Federation is doing its best to hold this African tournament.”
“What is the excuse to cancel it if Euro 2020 was held amid the coronavirus pandemic with full capacity stadiums? The tournament was held in different European cities without any problems.”
“Give me a single logical reason to cancel the tournament or make it clear that you think Cameroon is the weaker side and should accept any outcome as usual.”
“What is really hard to stomach is that some Africans are accomplices in pushing for the cancellation of the tournament,” the former Real Madrid and Barcelona star added.
Eto’o is the all-time top scorer in Africa Cup of Nations history with 18 goals.
