AFCON issues new Covid-19 policies as cases spike among players

The president of the Confederation of African Football CAF Patrice Motsepé was in Douala on Saturday for a friendly game ahead of the opening of the competition.

Motsepe took the opportunity to reassure the fans and players about the security and Covid-19 protocols put in place to prevent further spread.

"We have taken all these important measures because the lives of the players and spectators depend on it, hence these decisions on our part, health and safety are imperative, said Patrice Motsepe, CAF president.

The rising Covid cases have now forced the federation to announce stricter measures and issue new policies on how the tournament will take place.

"Today we know that in the whole world we are adapting, you had to watch in Europe, many matches had to be postponed, we took the challenge of organizing with Covid, but keeping it at a good distance because, in reality, we cannot eliminate it, I am sure that the challenge will be taken up by the Cameroonian authorities and by CAF to have a CAN as safe as possible, said Augustin Senghor, the Vice-Président CAF.

The rising Covid cases have now forced the federation to announce stricter measures and issue new policies on how the -- tournament will take place in Meanwhile, the Burkina Faso team is crying foul over the new cases of Covid infections on their players just a few hours before they meet the host in the opening match on Sunday.

"We waited all day, at the beginning it was in the morning that we had to pass these tests, then it was postponed to the afternoon. Finally, it was during the night that we did the tests and they were not PCR tests, they were antigenic (lateral flow) tests. I think it's a scandal," said Burkina Faso captain, Bertrand Traore.

Senegal on the other hand has suffered more cases as the west African team has reported at least nine cases among their players.

A new policy by the CAF stipulates that a  team will be required to play a match provided it has a minimum of 11 available squad members who have tested negative for the coronavirus.