AFCON 2021: CAF close down olembe stadium after stampede

The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final due to be held at the Olembe Stadium on Sunday will be moved after a fatal crush outside the ground on Monday.

At least eight people were killed and 38 injured as fans struggled to get access to a match between hosts Cameroon and Comoros in Yaounde.

All Nations Cup matches will remember victims with a minute’s silence.

The Confederation of African Football and world governing body FIFA have sent condolences to the affected families.

Two children, aged eight and 14, were among the dead, and seven people were seriously injured in the crush.

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CAF president Patrice Motsepe visited injured supporters in hospital and the scene outside the Olembe Stadium on Tuesday, and later said he was “sad and hurt” by the incident.

Motsepe added that CAF must take responsibility for the crush along with the local organising committee and the Cameroonian government.

“We have a duty to find out exactly what happened and more importantly to put in preventative measures to ensure that what happened never happens again,” he said.

“There were deficiencies, weaknesses, failures, things that should have been foreseen.

“When people lose their lives you must be angry and demand explanations and guarantees that it will never happen again.”

The Olembe Stadium, newly constructed to host the tournament, has a capacity of 60,000 but was not meant to be more than 80% full because of Covid-19 restrictions.

However, match officials were quoted as saying that as many as 50,000 people were trying to attend Monday’s match.

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The ground held the opening ceremony and is due to host a semi-final and the Nations Cup final on Sunday, 6 February.

Sunday’s quarter-final is now set to be played at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde instead.