CAF President visits Cameroon for final inspection ahead of AFCON
2021 AFCON to start in January
Patrick Viera urge the world to show AFCON due respect
Crystal Palace manager, Patrick Viera, has given Jordan Ayew the green light to represent Ghana at the African Cup of Nations in Cameroon 2022.
The manager has vowed not to stand in the way of any African player in his team, who has been called to represent their countries at the AFCON next year.
Following the manager’s decision, Crystal Palace will miss the services of Ayew, Wilfred Zaha and Cheikou Kouyate in the Premier League during winter.
“I respect the passion and respect of the African cup of nations and will never stop any player from going. I believe there should be more respectful towards the AFCON. Maybe Journalist here should go to Africa and cover it and then they will understand” he said
However, other African players in Europe are yet to receive the go head to attend the tournament after European Clubs Association(ECA) threatened not to release their players for the AFCON.
ECA sighted issues relating to Coronavirus as one of the underlining reasons to bar African players from the tournament.
“As you know, the pandemic and its associated implications raise three fundamental concerns for clubs when it comes to the release of players to national teams: first and foremost, the clubs’ duty to ensure each and every player’s wellbeing is properly protected; second, that clubs are not forced to be without players for club competition matches; third, that all players resume their activities with their clubs following national duty in a timely fashion, as per the applicable rules,” a statement from the letter read.
Nonetheless, Preparation for the tournament to commence has reached the final stages with CAF president Patrice Motsepe visiting Cameroon on December 21, for the final inspection.
Read the full statement below
