Sad day in African football: CAF President conveys his condolence message to the families of deceased supporters
January 24, 2022 was a sad day in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations when eight person have been reportedly dead and dozens injured following a stampede at the Olembe Stadium that hosted the Cameroon and Comoros round of 16 match on January 24.
Scene of the stampede. Source: skynews
CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe sends his heartfelt condolences to the families of the supporters that lost their lives to the stampede.
Before yesterday’s AFCON matches kicked off- Senegal v Cape Verde and Morocco v Malawi, the stadiums take a minute of silence to honor the deceased spectators. That was done as directed by the CAF president. He gave the directive while conveying his condolence message yesterday, prior to the matches.
He conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the families, friends and relatives of the people who have been confirmed dead. And he affirmed that the incident will be thoroughly investigated.
“We are saddened when there is loss of life and all of us should put aside the legal issues and take responsibility. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends. The CAF family is deeply hurt. We would like to convey our deepest condolences to the families, friends and relatives of the people who lost their lives yesterday.” – Motsepe said
“We have a duty to find out exactly what happened and more importantly to put in appropriate measures to ensure that what happened never happens again. When people lose their lives, we all should be angry. We have to demand explanations and guarantees that it will never happen again.”- he added
Dr Motsepe has earlier visited the injured spectators receiving treatment in Yaoundé hospitals. He also said the Africa football governing body will support the families of the eight spectators that lost their lives to the incident and the injured supporters.
“This morning I was at the hospital and visited the injured people. At this moment our greatest attention is on the people who have suffered, I wanted to visit the injured spectators last night, but was advised to allow the doctor and the medical staff to focus on the injured spectators. I want to reaffirm that we are very sorry, and we will assist the injured and the families of those who lost their lives in whichever manner possible.”
CAF has reportedly move the quarterfinal matches scheduled to be played at the Olembe stadium to another venue.
